NSW camera audit to skip accuracy check

New South Wales' auditor-general Peter Achterstraat has today said that the audit into the state's speed cameras will not review the accuracy of the technology.

(Sydney 500 speed cameras image by
Jon Ovington, CC BY-SA 2.0)

The auditor-general will review the effectiveness and placement of speed and red light cameras to determine whether they ensure and promote public safety or act as state revenue raisers, but will exclude technical aspects such as camera accuracy in order to complete the review in the proposed three-month time frame.

"[Accuracy] won't be considered in this audit but [the auditor-general] may consider it in the future," executive director for the Audit Office of NSW, Barry Underwood, told ZDNet Australia.

"We're keeping [the review] contained so we can get it done in the time frame, but it's certainly not being ruled out for future audits," he added.

The auditor-general said in a statement today that if motorists have an issue with the accuracy of cameras they can lodge a complaint with the State Debt Recovery Office.

Achterstraat's review contrasts with the Victorian speed camera audit announced in January, which has technical accuracy as its cornerstone.

"Victorians need to have confidence that the state's traffic camera network is accurate and has proper oversight," Peter Ryan, Victorian deputy premier and minister for Police and Emergency Services said in January.