February 2022 Board meeting minutes

Dams Safety NSW Board Meeting No 22

8 February 2022

Location: Online via Microsoft Teams

Time 9.30am to 1pm

Invitees - Ross Carter (chair), Alex Fisher (dep chair), Shane McGrath, Rob O’Neill, Julie Garland McLellan, Chris Salkovic, Margaret Hynes, Jacqui Page (Secretariat), Jason Porter, Peter Boyd, Olivia Masson

Minutes: Jacqui Page

Apologies: Nil

Item	Decision and Action
1	Meeting open 1.1 Appointed members only 1.2 Acknowledgement of country and welcome 1.3 Apologies - Nil. 1.4 Conflicts of interest/ Disclosures Nil 1.5 Previous minutes and actions Members approved the previous minutes with a minor amendment for Action 20211210-03: Action 20220802-01: Management team to amend Action 20211210-03 to read: “on rare occasions, only one discipline may be required”.
2	Strategy/Stakeholder Matters for Discussion 2.1 Strategic risk deep dive – “Dams Safety NSW operational activity is not effective and is seen as a contributor to a large dam event or a small dam failure” Peter Boyd presented the strategic risk deep dive - Dams Safety NSW operational activity is not effective and is seen as having failed to prevent a dam incident of concern. Peter to update strategic risk with recommended changes by members. Action 20220802-02: Update the risk description in risk register to read: ‘…large dam serious incident’ rather than ‘large dam event’. Action 20220802-03: Update the consequence of the risk to read: ‘A dam failure that should have been prevented by effective Dams Safety NSW operational activity’. Action 20220802-04: Update the ‘controls’ section to include: reference the stakeholder engagement activities that address the risk of stakeholders mistakenly thinking that Dams Safety NSW’s role and regulatory activities are inadequate the risk-based planning activities and team-based audits that reduce the risk of ‘regulatory capture’ and that assure the independence of operational activities. Action 20220802-05: Update the ‘actions underway’ section to include: that continual improvement activities and the regular review of strategy, policy and processes provide assurance that operational activities remain relevant and effective a focus on reducing higher risk dams’ risk represents a continual striving to reduce the state’s dam risk profile. 2.2 Sharing dams safety information Paper taken as read. Olivia Masson presented further analysis on sharing dams safety information with the public, to expand opportunities for information sharing. Members thanked Olivia for her work to date and acknowledged that further discussions needed to be undertaken by members and management team during the strategic planning workshops. Action 20220802-06: Members and management team to discuss “Sharing Dams safety information” further at strategic planning workshop in March 2022. Matters for Noting 2.3 Review of Queensland Audit Office recommendations Paper taken as read. Peter Boyd provided an analysis on how Dams Safety NSW addresses the recommendations made by Queensland Audit Office into the performance of the Queensland Dams Safety regulator. Action 20220802-07: Update the key messages to the Minister to include: ‘The review determined that Dams Safety NSW has already addressed the improvement recommendations in the Queensland Audit Office report or actions to address them are in progress. Actions in progress will be completed by the first quarter of 2022.’ Action 20220802-08: Update key messages to the Minister to reflect: the ‘Audit Office’ and ‘Regulator’ are the Queensland Audit Office and Queensland Regulator that Dams Safety NSW takes into account financial status in its regulatory response but always ensures that the risks are addressed. Action 20220802-09: Management team to include in communication material that Dams Safety NSW’s focus during operational activities is on dam owners’ systems, not individual dam technical inspections.
3	Governance Matters for Noting 3.1 Internal Audit and Risk Management schedule/matrix for compliance with Treasury Policy TPP 20-08 Peter Boyd presented a follow up paper on pursuing a small agency exemption against the requirements of Treasury Policy TPP 20 – 08 ‘Internal Audit and Risk Management Policy for the General Government Sector’, highlighting how Dams Safety NSW addresses the requirements of the policy. Action 20220802-10: Management team to nominate a Chief Risk Officer. Action 20220802-11: Management team to provide the internal audit schedule to the members when completed. Action 20220802-12: Management team to include a reference to the Department’s internal audit and risk function so that the Dams Safety NSW’s internal audit function is fit for purpose and functions alongside the Department’s internal audit function.
4	Operations Matters for Noting Matters for Decision 4.1 Dams above the safety threshold - escalation of regulatory response Chris Salkovic presented escalation timeframes for regulatory timeframes. Members agreed to proposed minor changes and timeframes for response as a guide for management. Action 20220802-13: Management team to provide members with some case studies of regulatory action taken or proposed for future Board meeting discussion to verify guideline response settings. Action 20220802-14: Management team to investigate alignment of approach with other regulators and report back to members. Matters for Noting 4.2 CEO Report Chris Salkovic presented the CEO Report. Presentation noted by members, in particular detail about reported incidents Action 20220802-15: Management team to consider reporting incident information quarterly in the form of trends and to include detail on ongoing monitoring and response to any concerning incidents. 4.3 Key Performance Indicators and projects Chris Salkovic presented the key performance indicators and projects. Presentation noted by members. Members advised that the Institute of Public Works Engineering Australasia (IPWEA) has a State Conference in Sydney in March 2022, and maybe valuable for management team to attend and engage with public works engineers as key stakeholders for dam safety management. Action 20220802-16: Management to contact Institute of Public Works Engineering Australia (IPWEA) to enquire about future conference presentations.
5	General Business 5.1 Timing of the face-to-face March Board Meeting and Strategic Workshop. Board meeting and dinner moved to Tuesday 29 March 2022, commencing at 12pm. Strategic Workshop to held on Wednesday 30 March 2022, commencing at 9.30am. Action 20220802-17: Management team to co-ordinate travel and accommodation arrangements for new dates and send details to members. Action 20220802-18: Members to apply for their Director ID’s and provide to management team.
6	Meeting Finalisation 6.1 Review actions taken 6.2 Meeting evaluation, by Julie McClellan 6.3 Next meeting – 29 March 2022 Closed at 1pm