Follow-up: Management of Spending in Response to COVID-19

Why this is important

During a crisis, departments need to respond rapidly to unexpected events. However, departments still need to be transparent and accountable for how they spend public money. 

Our 2021 report Management of Spending in Response to COVID-19 found that not all departments effectively managed their spending during the pandemic. There were gaps in some procurement processes and grant management. Departments were also not tracking and reporting their COVID-19 related spending in transparent ways. 

Our 2023 Auditor-General’s Report on the Annual Financial Report of the State of Victoria: 2022–23 also looked at COVID-19 business support grants. It found that the former Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions did not have effective controls in place to minimise the likelihood of fraud and error, and recommended that it evaluate its grants programs.

Since 2021, some departments have reported on the continued financial impact of COVID-19. This includes disclosing reductions in the value of personal protective equipment bought during the pandemic and acknowledging that they paid some COVID-19 business support grants in error.

However, because departments report this information individually, there is still limited transparency around the ongoing impact of pandemic-related spending across the government. This engagement will improve transparency and assess departments' progress implementing our recommendations. 

What we plan to examine

We plan to examine if departments implemented our recommendations from Management of Spending in Response to COVID-19 (2021) and the Auditor-General’s Report on the Annual Financial Report of the State of Victoria: 2022–23, with a focus on how agencies are reporting the ongoing financial impact of their COVID-19 related expenditure.

Who we plan to examine

All departments

Further information

This builds on our reports:

Management of Spending in Response to COVID-19 (2021)

Auditor-General’s Report on the Annual Financial Report of the State of Victoria: 2022–23 (2023).

This is a limited assurance review.