An audit of Tourism Australia revealed that between July 2021 and June of this year, the agency reported $266 million in contracts, with over two-thirds awarded without open competition.
Auditors discovered that Tourism Australia frequently failed to meet requirements for selecting contractors offering the best value for money, ensuring fair treatment of suppliers, and appropriately disclosing potential conflicts of interest.
Auditors found it was “common” for identified conflicts of interest to go unmanaged, including instances where tourism office employees had prior connections to companies bidding for contracts, or where no records of management actions were kept.
Tourism Australia informed the audit office that when a significant conflict of interest is identified, management takes appropriate measures, such as removing the individual from the scoring process.
The auditor’s report includes details from a 2023 internal audit conducted by Deloitte, which reviewed the gifts and benefits received by tourism office employees over a six-month period.
The investigation reviewed 15 declared gifts and identified three instances where staff received sponsored travel without prior approval.
Tourism Australia’s policies state that employees involved in procurement must not accept gifts from companies connected to the procurement process.
In June, Tourism Australia CEO Phillipa Harrison disclosed that three former staff members had been referred to the National Anti-Corruption Commission after being dismissed for using taxpayer funds for personal travel.
The commission chose not to pursue an investigation, as the employees had been terminated, and the misused funds were repaid.
