In accordance with section 16(3) of the Audit Act 1994 a copy of this report was provided to the departments of Business and Innovation, Human Services, Justice, Premier and Cabinet, and Treasury and Finance, the Country Fire Authority and Tourism Victoria, with a request for submissions or comments.
The submission and comments provided are not subject to audit nor the evidentiary standards required to reach an audit conclusion. Responsibility for the accuracy, fairness and balance of those comments rests solely with the agency head.
State Purchase Contracts (SPCs) are whole-of-government arrangements for aggregating purchases of goods and services to secure significant discounts. We examined the use and management of the travel services and stationery contracts that are mandatory for departments.
We examined whether agencies had considered the costs, benefits and risks when deciding how to purchase and pay for goods and services.
The agencies included in this audit could not demonstrate that they had efficiently managed the transactions we examined. They could not show that decisions about how to purchase and pay for goods and services had been based on an objective understanding of the costs, benefits and risks of the alternatives.
We examined how well agencies had applied, and the Department of Treasury and Finance (DTF) had overseen, the legislated rules designed to make sure that only legitimate expenses are funded and to deliver effective and efficient financial management.
Agencies' management and DTF's oversight of the expenses included in this audit have been generally effective.
Public sector agencies meet the reasonable business costs they incur by reimbursing out-of-pocket expenses, settling corporate purchasing card statements and paying invoices generated through their activities. These costs are significant, for example, during 2010–11 agencies charged $61.6 million to government purchasing cards and spent a total of $14.4 million through the whole-of-government contract for air travel.
Public sector agencies meet the business costs they incur by reimbursing out‑of‑pocket expenses, settling corporate purchasing card statements and paying invoices generated through their activities. These costs are significant, for example, during 2010–11, agencies charged $61.6 million to government purchasing cards and spent a total of $14.4 million through the whole-of-government contract for air travel.
Ordered to be printed
VICTORIAN GOVERNMENT PRINTER May 2012
PP No 129, Session 2010–12
In accordance with section 16(3) of the Audit Act 1994 a copy of this report was provided to the Department of Business and Innovation, the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, the Department of Health, the Department of Human Services, the Department of Justice, the Department of Planning and Community Development, the Department of Premier and Cabinet, the Department of Primary Industries, the Department of Sustainability and Environment, the Department of Transport, the Department of Treasury and Finance and Victoria Police with a req