National Parks and Wildlife Service Audit and Compliance Committee

The purpose of the committee is to oversee National Parks and Wildlife Service's compliance:

• in its management of lands reserved under the National Parks and Wildlife Act with the:
  • National Parks and Wildlife Act
  • Biodiversity Conservation Act
  • Wilderness Act
  • Protection of the Environment Operations Act
  • other environmental legislation administered by NPWS
• in its regulatory programs with the:
  • National Parks and Wildlife Act
  • Biodiversity Conservation Act
  • Wilderness Act.

In addition, the Minister may request the committee to oversee the investigation of any matter relating to National Parks and Wildlife Service's compliance with the specified legislation in its management of protected areas or its regulatory programs.

The duties of the committee are to:

• contribute to the development and review of any department audit, risk and compliance programs, particularly in relation to conservation compliance audit planning
• monitor, in conjunction with the department's Audit and Risk Committee, the effective implementation of any audit and compliance program adopted by National Parks and Wildlife Service, particularly with respect to any internal audit plan
• monitor the timeliness of implementation of endorsed audit recommendations
• identify major risks to which National Parks and Wildlife Service is exposed with respect to conservation of its natural and cultural heritage assets
• verify and monitor that the internal control systems are adequate and functioning effectively
• review compliance in the management of the reserve system with any regulatory or statutory requirements under park management and other environmental legislation administered by National Parks and Wildlife Service
• review compliance of regulatory programs with any regulatory or statutory requirements under park management and other environmental legislation administered by National Parks and Wildlife Service
• consider other matters as referred to the committee by the Minister or the National Parks and Wildlife Service Executive
• report at least every 2 years to the Minister, highlighting any significant audit and compliance issues and the strategies in place to address these   additional reports will be provided as required by the Minister.

The committee is established under the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 (NPW Act). Section 9 (1), (2), (2A) and (7) of the NPW Act sets out the functions of the committee, Section 9 (4) sets out the membership and Sections 3, 5 and 6 set out the procedures.

The committee is appointed by the Minister.

The chairperson is an independent member elected by the committee.

Members must have a clear understanding of:

• their role and responsibilities as outlined in the terms of reference
• the role of the Minister in relation to the committee
• the committee's relationship to the National Parks and Wildlife Service and the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water and its management.

Members should take a close interest in and regularly monitor all matters pertaining to those responsibilities and act to promptly address any issues affecting their ability to carry them out fully and effectively.

As far as practicable, members should attend all committee meetings and actively participate in discussion and decisions at those meetings.

It is expected that members will allow time to prepare for committee meetings and will read and provide comment on reports and other documents which have been submitted for consideration and/or decision by the committee.

Members should form and participate in subcommittees where appropriate and as required.

In addition to his or her role as a committee member (refer to Section 8), the committee chairperson will:

• chair the meetings
• work with the Deputy Secretary NPWS in developing an annual meeting schedule, meeting agendas and reports to the Minister.

All members are required to comply with the committee code of conduct.