January 2023 Board meeting minutes

Dams Safety NSW Board Meeting No 30

31 January 2023

Location: 4PSQ, 12 Darcy Street, Parramatta

Time: 10am - 1pm

Attendees:

Mr Paul O’Connor (Chair), Ms Julie Garland McLellan (Dep Chair), Mr Shane McGrath, Mr Rob O’Neill, Mr Ian Landon-Jones, Mr Chris Salkovic (CEO)

Invitees:

Ms Margaret Hynes, Mr Jason Porter

Declarations of interest: No conflicts of interest were identified for this meeting.

Item	Discussion and actions
1	Meeting open 1.1 Appointed members only 1.2 Acknowledgement of country and welcome 1.3 Apologies and absences Nil 1.4 Declarations of interest: No conflicts of interest were identified for this meeting. 1.5 Previous minutes and actions Minutes and actions accepted with no amendments.
2	Strategy/Stakeholder engagement Matters for discussion 2.1. Dams Safety Engineers competency framework - update Paper was taken as read. After discussion, members agreed to the project mandate: To establish a dams safety engineer competency framework which will be administered by Engineers Australia. Action: 20233101-01: CEO to hold further discussions with Engineers Australia on the entity best placed to lead on the project. 2.2. Sharing dams safety information Paper taken as read. After discussion, members agreed to the following open access principle for sharing information: DSNSW embraces an open access principle to sharing information received and produced by the Agency to the extent allowed by law and consistent with preserving the integrity of its regulatory actions, where sharing that information will: enable the community to understand the level of risks that may arise in relation to dams; and/or assist with holding the dam owners accountable and promote a culture of compliance within the sector; and/or assist with demonstrating that DSNSW is a fair, transparent and effective regulator. Members agreed that, over time, more information will be published to encourage transparency and the open sharing of information by declared dam owners. Action: 20233101-02: Management to apply the open access principle for sharing information in its current revision of stakeholder engagement strategy. Matters for noting 2.3 Engagement with local government sector Paper taken as read. Action: 20233101-03: Office of Local Government to be included as a stakeholder with available communication channels in the DSNSW stakeholder engagement strategy.
3	Governance Matters for discussion 3.1. Annual risk review Paper taken as read. After discussion, members endorsed the overarching risk management framework elements to guide its approach to risk governance. Action: 20233101-04: Management to present a revised set of strategic risks for Board review and endorsement. Action: 20233101-05: Management to develop a draft risk appetite statement to describe DSNSW risk posture and tolerances and the supporting strategic risk indicators and reporting framework for the Board to consider. Matters for noting 3.2. Strategic Plan progress with KPI update Paper taken as read.
4	Operations Matters for noting 4.1 Dams above the safety threshold – biannual update meeting – 28 March 2023 Paper taken as read. Action: 20233101-06: Management to amend the ‘Dams Above Safety Threshold’ table to include risk rankings. 4.2 CEO Report Paper taken as read.
5	General business 5.1 Proposed regional meetings Taken as read. Members agreed to the timing and locations for regional visits during 2023.
6	Meeting finalisation 6.1 Review actions 6.2. Meeting evaluation – Ian Landon-Jones 6.3. Next meeting – 28 March 2023, Newcastle Meeting closed at 12.59pm.