Audit, Risk and Improvement Committee

The Audit, Risk and Improvement Committee’s objective is to provide independent assurance to the governing body of Council by monitoring, reviewing and providing advice about the Council's governance processes, compliance, risk management and control frameworks, external accountability obligations and overall performance.

The Audit, Risk and Improvement Committee meets at least four times a year and operates under an Audit, Risk and Improvement Committee Terms of Reference (ToR) that is reviewed by the Audit, Risk and Improvement Committee with substantive changes approved by Council resolution. The ToR requires that the Committee provide an annual assessment to the governing body and the Chief Executive Officer on the Committee’s work and its opinion on how the Council is performing. Under the ToR, this may be included in the Audit, Risk and Improvement Committee Annual Report. A copy of the 2025 Annual Report can be found here.

In accordance with Section 428A of the Local Government Act 1993 and the Audit, Risk and Improvement Committee Terms of Reference, the Committee must keep the following matters under review:

  • Compliance;
  • Risk management;
  • Fraud control;
  • Financial management;
  • Governance;
  • Implementation of the strategic plan, delivery program and strategies;
  • Service reviews;
  • Collection of performance measurement data by the council;
  • Internal audit;
  • External audit; and
  • Any other matters prescribed by the regulations.

The Office of Local Government Guidelines for Risk Management and Internal Audit in Local Government NSW advise that the Committee must develop a strategic work plan every four years to ensure that all matters listed above are reviewed by the Committee and considered by the internal audit function when developing the risk-based program of internal audits. The Audit, Risk and Improvement Committee 4-Year Strategic Work Plan was endorsed by the Committee and adopted by Council at the Council meeting held on 13 May 2025.

Membership

The Audit, Risk and Improvement Committee membership consists of an independent chairperson and two independent members who have voting rights and one non-voting Councillor member as follows:

  • Lisa Berwick – Independent Chair (voting)
  • Barry Husking – Independent member (voting)
  • Michael Quirk – Independent member (voting)
  • Peter McLean – Councillor member (non-voting)
  • Eva Campbell – Councillor alternate member (non-voting)

Internal Audit

Council operates an internal audit function as a key component of Council’s governance framework. The internal audit function reports administratively to Council’s Chief Executive Officer and functionally to Council’s Audit, Risk and Improvement Committee.

Internal Audit operates under an Internal Audit Charter that is reviewed by the Audit, Risk and Improvement Committee with substantive changes approved by Council resolution.

Council's internal audit team conduct audits under a 4-Year Strategic Internal Audit Plan that was endorsed by the Audit, Risk and Improvement Committee in February 2025 and endorsed by Council on 13 May 2025. A revision to the internal audit program was endorsed by the Audit, Risk and Improvement Committee in July 2026 and by Council in September 2026. The revised program of audits for the October 2026 to September 2027 year can be found here.

Audit, Risk and Improvement Committee Meeting Minutes