Annual reporting information serves as the primary means for agencies to demonstrate their accountability to Parliament, the government, and the public. It provides a summary of an agency’s activities and performance, and shows how public resources have been applied during the annual reporting period.
Annual reporting information requirements
The Government Sector Finance Act 2018 (GSF Act) annual reporting provisions under Division 7.3 provides for the preparation of annual reporting information and its application to reporting GSF agencies.
Annual reporting information for a GSF reporting agency includes:
- information about the agency’s activities and performance during an annual reporting period for the agency
- the annual financial statements
- audit report concerning the annual financial statements.
Who prepares annual reporting information
Reporting GSF agencies required to prepare annual reporting information was defined by a list of departments, agencies and statutory bodies as prescribed in Schedule 3 to the GSF Regulation 2024 (Government Sector Finance Regulation 2024 - NSW Legislation).
This list will be repealed on 1 July 2025 (at the beginning of the day). Please refer to the consultation below for the proposed framework for the 2024-25 financial reporting period (or 2025 calendar reporting period) onwards. It outlines the new grouping requirements for who prepares annual reporting information. The proposed framework includes transitional arrangements.
What is included in annual reporting information
The annual reporting information must be presented under the following high-level headings –
- Overview
- Strategy
- Operations and performance
- Management and accountability
- Sustainability
- Financial performance.
Annual reporting requirements are specified in:
TD23-11 Annual Reporting Requirements – includes principles for preparing and publishing the agency’s annual reporting information and when exemptions, extensions and variations can be requested.
TPG23-10 Annual Reporting Requirements – specifies certain annual reporting information as mandatory requirements to report and outlines the annual reporting requirements from the GSF Act, the GSF Regulation 2024, TD23-11 and other NSW Government legislation and policies.
TPG23-10 was updated in July 2024. See the summary of changes.
An agency must:
- prepare their annual reporting information within four months after the end of the annual reporting period
- provide this to the responsible Minister to enable it to be tabled in Parliament as soon as practicable but no later than five months after the end of the annual reporting period.
Climate-related financial disclosures
Treasury is implementing mandatory climate-related financial disclosures for certain annual reporting entities. See Climate-related financial disclosures.
Consultation on draft policies - Framework for Financial and Annual Reporting (December 2024)
Treasury has released draft policies regarding the Framework for Financial and Annual Reporting. These policies build on the feedback received from the April 2024 consultation.
The policy papers present a comprehensive framework to support legislative requirements for financial and annual information reporting. The papers outline criteria designed to determine which GSF agencies are required to prepare financial and annual reporting information, as well as set out the appropriate format and content for each. The proposed differential reporting framework categorises agencies into three distinct groups, each with specific, proportionate reporting obligations.
Treasury has sought feedback from NSW public sector agencies on the draft policy and guidelines papers, specifically implementation. Treasury is reviewing agency feedback and making minor updates to the draft policies to reflect this feedback.
Overview and summary documents:
- Overview of consultation and Feedback Questions – includes climate related disclosures Phase 2
- Summary of changes to the framework for financial and annual reporting since April 2024 consultation
- Summary table of the grouping of agencies criteria
Draft policy papers:
- TPG_00 - Framework for Financial and Annual reporting
- TPG_01 - Group 1 Annual Report
- TPG_02 - Group 2 Annual information statement
- TPG_03 - Group 3 Financial information return
- Financial information returns template
TD23-11 and TPG 23-10 will be replaced by a new TD and TPGs (drafts above) when the framework comes into effect on 1 July 2025.
Annual reporting contacts
Treasury’s Financial Management Legislation team administers the financial reporting and annual reporting legislation applicable to GSF agencies. For information on annual reporting requirements contact [email protected].
For information on financial statement accounting matters, please go to the Treasury's Accounting Policy webpage or contact [email protected].
