May 2022 Board meeting minutes

Dams Safety NSW Board Meeting No 24

3 May 2022

Location: Level 13, 60 Margaret Street, Sydney

Time: 9:30am - 11:45am

Attendees: Ross Carter (chair), Alex Fisher (dep chair), Shane McGrath, Rob O’Neill, Julie Garland McLellan, Chris Salkovic, Margaret Hynes, Jason Porter, Peter Boyd, Muhammad Akber

Apologies: Jacqui Page

Declarations of interest: Nil new interests declared

Item	Discussion and actions
1	Meeting open 1.1 Appointed members only 1.2 Acknowledgement of country and welcome 1.3 Previous minutes and actions Minutes accepted with no amendments.
2	Strategy/Stakeholder Matters for Discussion 2.1 Strategic risk deep dive – “Dams Safety NSW does not communicate regulatory obligations adequately, so dam owners do not understand their obligations or take them seriously” Peter Boyd presented the strategic deep dive - Dams Safety NSW does not respond effectively to a major dam safety incident. Peter advised that Dams Safety NSW is well positioned to respond effectively and in addition to responding to recent rain events, has conducted several emergency exercises and improved engagement with SES over the last twelve months. Action 20220305-01: Management team to update risk register to reflect changes recommended by members. Action 20220305-02: Management team to provide a map of DSNSW policy and strategy documents and present to members.
3	Governance N/A
4	Operations Matters for Discussion 4.1 Annual dam safety standards report Akber presented the initial findings from the receipt of the Annual Dam Safety Standards Reports. Members were encouraged to hear that, as a new requirement, approximately 60% of Dam Owners submitted their reports on time and 80% of reports had been received by 3 May 2022. Members requested that additional analysis be undertaken and that a response strategy be developed to seek to ensure that all Dam Owners submit compliant Annual Dam Safety Standards Reports by the statutory date. Action 20220305-03: Management team to provide further analysis and advise on the response strategy on annual safety standards reporting at the next meeting. Action 20220305-04: Management team to document the operational process for review of risk reports to ensure quality of reports. 4.2 February and March flooding event Chris presented a summary of rain and flooding event impacts on declared dams and lessons learned from the Dams Safety team. Members advised that they wanted to further understand how our systems worked over this period and how the staff were impacted to ensure DSNSW was well placed to manage future events of this nature. Management team to discuss further at the next meeting. Action 20220305-05: Management team to add discussion item (no Board paper) on February and March flooding event to agenda for next meeting. Matters for Noting 4.3 CEO Report CEO report taken as read. Chris highlighted ongoing risk with staffing. Members agreed that Chair and Chris needed to discuss further and develop an approach to provide greater certainty in this regard. Action 20222903-06: Chair and CEO to develop an approach to provide greater staffing and budget certainty and increased autonomy in these aspects of governance of dams safety, in the context of the outcomes from the 2021/2022 budget. 4.4 Key Performance Indicators and projects Key performance indicators and projects taken as read.
5	General Business Nil
6	Meeting Finalisation 6.1 Next meeting to be virtual 6.2 Meeting evaluation, by Julie McClellan 6.3 Next meeting – Next meeting to be held in June 2022.