The Queensland Audit Office (QAO) welcomes information on public sector performance and requests for audits from the public, elected members, public sector employees, and other integrity offices. The information is a valuable input to our audit work.

To increase transparency, we publish summaries of the requests we receive from members of state parliament (MPs) and Queensland councillors on our website. Below, we share information on the requests we have received since 1 November 2020, including who submitted it, when we received it, and if and why we are conducting an audit in response.  

You can find more information on this process in our requests for audits fact sheet. You are welcome to submit a request for audit via the contact us section of our website: www.qao.qld.gov.au/contact-us

You can filter the status of requests below to: any, in progress, upcoming audit – forward work plan, or completed. Please press the search button after making your selection.

Requested date

2022–23

Requested by
Stephen Bennett MP, Member for Burnett
Requested date
Details

The member requested that QAO investigate whether Bundaberg Regional Council appropriately spent State Government funding received under the Queensland Natural Disaster Resilience Programme.

The member raised concerns about funding received in 2013-14 for works to stabilise the bank of the Burnett River.

Response

We responded to the member on 31 March 2023.

We advised the member that QAO will consider the financial aspects of the request including whether use of the funds was appropriately acquitted. However, as this matter dates back to 2013-14 there may be limitations on the information available to support our assessment of the original transaction.

Our review will not include an assessment of the quality of the work performed or the appropriateness of technical aspects of any works as QAO is not qualified to assess the geotechnical and design quality of the works performed.

 

Status
In progress

2021–22

Requested by
Councillor Nicole Johnston, Tennyson Ward – Brisbane City Council
Requested date
Details

The councillor requested that the Auditor-General investigate the allocation of public funding for suburban and multi-cultural festivals in Brisbane City Council’s (council) 2021-22 Budget.

Response

We responded to the councillor on 15 March 2022.

We advised the councillor that we will obtain more information about the council’s process for allocating the suburban and multi-cultural festival funding in its 2021-22 budget. We will consider further actions once we have obtained and assessed this information.

If we identify any deficiencies in council’s process to allocate this funding, we will report these in a letter to management. If we identify any significant issues, we will also include these in a report to parliament.

Status
In progress
Requested by
Mr Jarrod Bleijie MP, Member for Kawana
Requested date
Details

The member requested that QAO audit the Queensland Regional Accommodation Centre (Wellcamp) project (including lease and operation costs) to determine:

  • the complete cost of the project
  • if the procurement methodology (direct sourcing) has delivered best value
  • whether the government had acted in accordance with the Use and disclosure of confidentiality provisions in government contracts policy
  • whether the recommendations in QAO’s report Confidentiality and disclosure of government contracts (Report 8: 2017-18) were implemented and applied to this project.

UPDATE – August 2022

On 3 August 2022, the member subsequently requested that our consideration of this matter be expanded to include:

  • the level of detail provided by the proponent prior to the government committing to the facility
  • whether specifications for use of the site as a quarantine facility (e.g. on-site medical centre) were part of the original contract
  • whether appropriate delegations for contract execution and contract variations were in place and followed (noting the findings of Report 16: 2021-22}
  • whether a rush to complete negotiations resulted in a poor outcome for taxpayers
  • whether any other proponents put similar proposals to government, and
  • whether the original contract gave the government the ability to release the costs, or were further concessions obtained from the proponent to secure their agreement for the release of contract costs.

UPDATE – February 2023

On 22 December 2022, the member requested an update on our investigation.

Response

We responded to the member on 8 March 2022.

We advised the member that we are in the process of obtaining more information from the relevant government departments. This will include identifying the various costs, understanding the procurement process, and reviewing leases and other agreements including the use of confidentiality provisions. 

We will consider further actions once we have obtained and assessed this information. 

We will also assess, as part of our normal financial audit process, the appropriate accounting treatment and disclosure of these transactions in departmental financial statements.

UPDATE – August 2022

We responded to the member’s additional request on 17 August 2022. We advised him that several of the additional matters raised form part of our current assessment, for which information has already been provided by the relevant departments. In completing our assessment, we will consider whether we should expand our lines of inquiry to include any additional matters raised in the latest request.

UPDATE – February 2023

On 14 February 2023 we advised the member that our audit of the project is largely complete and that we are in the process of resolving some follow-up questions with the Department of State Development, Infrastructure, Local Government and Planning.

Once we have resolved these questions, we will finalise our findings and draft our final report for consideration by management. We also advised the member that given the public interest in this audit we intend to prepare and table a report to Parliament when it is complete.

 

Status
In progress

2020–21

Requested by
Dr Mark Robinson MP, Member for Oodgeroo 
Requested date
Details

The member requested QAO conduct a performance audit on state government funding to Quandamooka Yoolooburrabee Aboriginal Corporation (QYAC) and its controlled entities on North Stradbroke Island. 

Response

We responded to the member on 24 March 2021.

We advised that we will obtain more information about the state’s funding arrangements with QYAC and its controlled entities.

We will also make preliminary enquiries of relevant state entities to understand how they are monitoring QYAC’s use of these funds.

Status
In progress

June 2022 status update –
We have concluded our review of the Department of Environment and Science’s funding arrangements and monitoring of QYAC’s use of funds. We are satisfied there are no matters of significance for reporting to parliament over the department’s monitoring of funding provided to QYAC.

We have provided other relevant state entities with preliminary findings from our review. After consulting with them on our preliminary findings we received additional information from them. We continue to review their monitoring of QYAC’s use of government funding and will include any matters of significance in a future report to parliament, which we expect to table in late-2022.