Browse our range of reports and publications including performance and financial statement audit reports, assurance review reports, information reports and annual reports.
Request for audit
Environment Restoration Fund and the Communities Environment Program
Response provided
Responded: Friday 24 July 2020
Contact
Please direct enquiries relating to requests through our contact page.
The Auditor-General responded on Thursday 27 February 2020 to correspondence from Senator Sarah Hanson-Young dated 16 February 2020, requesting that the Auditor-General conduct an investigation to examine the eligibility guidelines and administration of grant funding arrangements set out under both the Environment Restoration Fund and Communities Environment Program, and the conduct of any relevant parties in relation to these grant funds. The Auditor-General provided a follow-up response to Senator Hanson-Young on 24 July 2020.
Auditor-General's follow-up response
24 July 2020
Senator Sarah Hanson-Young
Australian Greens Senator for South Australia
By email: Senator.Hanson-Young@aph.gov.au
Dear Senator Hanson-Young
On 27 February 2020 I wrote to you noting that I would consider your request that I examine the eligibility guidelines and administration of the grant funding arrangements for the Environment Restoration Fund and Communities Environment programs in the development of the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) 2020-21 Annual Audit Work Program (AAWP).
Your request was carefully considered in relation to other competing priorities for audit coverage across the public sector, including audit topics related to the government’s response to COVID-19, and I decided that an audit of the programs you referred are not currently a higher priority than other audits currently included in the AAWP and therefore has not been included as potential audit topics in the program.
The AAWP is available from the ANAO’s website at https://www.anao.gov.au/work-program.
The ANAO will continue to monitor emerging risks and challenges that impact on the public sector and review planned audit coverage throughout the year in response to these factors. I also intend to undertake further consideration of COVID-19 related topics as the government response to this pandemic is implemented.
Yours sincerely
Grant Hehir
Auditor-General's response
27 February 2020
Senator Sarah Hanson-Young
Australian Greens Senator for South Australia
By email: Senator.Hanson-Young@aph.gov.au
Dear Senator Hanson-Young
Thank you for your letter of 16 February 2020 requesting that I examine the eligibility guidelines and administration of the grant funding arrangements for the Environment Restoration Fund and Communities Environment programs.
I will consider including an audit on each of the programs you have referred in the context of developing the Australian National Audit Office’s (ANAO) 2020–21 Annual Audit Work Program (work program).
The work program is designed to inform the Parliament, the public and government entities of planned audit coverage to commence in 2020–21 and will be published on the ANAO website in early July 2020.
Yours sincerely
Grant Hehir
Auditor-General
Correspondence from Senator Sarah Hanson-Young
Transcript of letter from Senator Sarah Hanson-Young
Mr Grant Hehir
Auditor-General
Australian National Audit Office
Barton ACT 2600
16 February 2020
Dear Auditor-General
Allegations concerning maladministration of the Environment Restoration Fund
I write in relation to concerning media reports in The Saturday Paper on 15 February 2020 (enclosed) relating to the administration of the Environment Restoration Fund.
In particular, the report outlines a number of concerning allegations in relation to the administration of the $100 million Environment Restoration Fund, including:
- Select invitations for application for grant funding, limited to just 25 organisations
- Location of grant funding recipients in electorates marginal to the Liberal National Party
- Questionable proximity of the timing of grant outcomes in relation to the 2019 election
- Apparent retrospective justification of the grant funding outcomes, with organisations invited to apply after public announcement of their success had been made
- Seemingly undue delay in publication of grant fund guidelines, seven months after the Environment Restoration Fund was announced in the 2019-20 Budget.
The matters raised are highly concerning, particularly in light of the findings from the ANAO in relation to the blatant politicisation of other Government grant funds. If found true, it would appear that the administration of the Environment Restoration Fund is in clear contravention of the Commonwealth Grants Rules and Guidelines 2017.
Similar concerns have been raised about the administration and transparency of grant funding under the Communities Environment program, where it appears that select organisations have similarly been approached by Government MPs to exclusively apply for the program.
I ask that you investigate the eligibility guidelines and administration of grant funding arrangements set out under both the Environment Restoration Fund and Communities Environment programs, and the conduct of any relevant parties in relation to these grant funds as a matter of urgency.
I look forward to your response.
Senator Sarah Hanson-Young
Australian Greens’ Spokesperson for Environment and Water