The audit objective was to assess whether public sector boards are providing effective governance and operating in accordance with the PSC’s good practice principles.
Our key question was:
Do the policies, procedures, systems and practices of selected public sector boards ensure that they have effective oversight of agency activity and comply with the principles for good board governance set by the Public Sector Commission?
We examined the records and practices of the following six public sector boards in 2012-13 (Appendix 1 provides a brief description of the role of each board):
- Independent Market Operator Board (a governing board)
- Perth Market Authority Board (a trading board)
- Pilbara Development Commission Board (a governing board)
- Port Hedland Port Authority Board (a trading board)
- Rottnest Island Authority Board (a management board)
- Trustees of the WA Museum (a stewardship board).
In the audit conduct we:
- interviewed key staff
- examined board documents and websites
- conducted structured interviews with board Chairs and agency CEOs
- met with ministerial representatives for five of the six boards to gain their insight into the operation and effectiveness of the boards
- conducted an anonymous survey of 135 public sector boards, which focused on their governance. We received 363 responses made up of 222 board members, 76 board Chairs, 27 agency CEOs, and 38 ‘Other’ respondents. Information regarding the conduct and findings of the survey can be found within the survey summary report.
The audit was conducted in accordance with Australian Auditing and Assurance Standards.