The annual report serves as the primary means for agencies to demonstrate their accountability to Parliament, the government, and the public. It provides a comprehensive 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 reports
Reporting GSF agencies required to prepare annual reports is currently 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).
Information included in the annual reports
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 report 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 report 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.
Consultation Paper - Financial and Annual Reporting Framework April 2024
Treasury consulted with the sector in early 2024 on a proposed holistic framework to apply from 1 July 2025 to support the legislative requirements for identifying which GSF agencies are required to prepare financial and annual reports.
Treasury is finalising development of the new framework and will share more information about this by November 2024.
Climate-related disclosures
The mandatory requirement to include climate-related financial disclosures within annual reports will commence from the 2024-25 financial year for larger entities or those likely to have material climate-related risks. Remaining entities will commence mandatory disclosures over the subsequent two years.
A Reporting Framework for Year One Climate-related Financial Disclosures is expected to be released in September 2024. Additional guidance, tools and training will be provided over the coming financial year to support entities in preparing their disclosures.
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].
