An audit has exposed deficiencies in NSW’s Forestry Corporation and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

NSW auditor-general Margaret Crawford has revealed that some EPA officers lacked essential equipment for basic forestry inspections.

According to the auditor-general's report, regional field staff in forestry operation areas do not have access to specialised equipment like tree diameter measuring tapes, range finders, dendrometers, and snake bite kits. 

Moreover, field staff relied on electronic mapping but did not always have access to computers or tablets, resulting in some staff members having to bring their personal tablets from home to access vital information.

The auditor-general made four recommendations for the EPA, including the provision of necessary equipment and an increase in the number of staff trained for forest inspections. 

The EPA's executive director of regional regulatory operations, Carmen Dwyer, has acknowledged the need for better resources and investments in new technologies to support staff in forestry inspections. 

She says two of the four recommendations have already been implemented to ensure the sustainability of the native forestry industry. 

One of the recommendations involves progressing a memorandum of understanding between the EPA and Forestry Corporation, which was signed in December 2019.

However, environmental lawyer and NSW Upper House MP Sue Higginson highlighted the serious deficiencies found in both organisations. 

She noted that simple tape measures are fundamental tools for compliance reports and inspections, especially regarding the size of trees that can be harvested. 

Higginson stressed the increased importance of forestry compliance following the 2019-20 bushfires in the state-owned forests.

While the EPA and Forestry Corporation viewed the report positively, acknowledging certain areas of improvement, concerns were raised about the inconsistent documentation of potential non-compliance by the Forestry Corporation. 

The report also highlighted sporadic audits that were not based on areas of known failings or adverse risk assessments.

Forestry Corporation strategy planning manager, Tony Brown, welcomed the audit results and expressed the organisation's commitment to improving processes and systems based on the recommendations. 

The Forestry Corporation says it intends to standardise processes between regions operating under slightly different regulations.