Download a PDF copy of Appendix E: Department action plans in response to our 2021 audit.

Download a PDF copy of Appendix D: Recommendations made in our 2021 audit.

Download a PDF copy of Appendix C: Review scope and method.

Download a PDF copy of Appendix B: Abbreviations, acronyms and glossary.

Download a PDF copy of Appendix A: Submissions and comments.

Since our 2021 report, departments have improved guidance for emergency procurement. 

Victoria has now put in place a clear, whole-of-government policy for procuring and managing PPE. This reduces the risk that the issues we identified in our 2021 report – such as poor coordination, elevated prices and departments competing for scarce stock – will reoccur in future. 

DJSIR managed most COVID-19 related grants. It informed the government that, of the $6.2 billion paid for its 3 main grant programs, up to $397.0 million was paid to high-risk, and potentially ineligible recipients. 

By 30 June 2025, DJSIR had written off $72.5 million of grant payments it made incorrectly and deemed as unrecoverable. Additional payments, approximately $6.4 million, may also be written off in future years. 

Since the start of the pandemic, departments have spent at least $39.8 billion on COVID-19 related initiatives. But Parliament and the public cannot easily get a full picture of the ongoing costs because consolidated whole-of-government reporting stopped after 2021–22. 

What we examined

Our review followed 3 lines of inquiry:

1. Have departments implemented their action plans from our 2021 report Management of Spending in Response to COVID-19?

2. Has the Department of Jobs, Skills, Industry and Regions (DJSIR) addressed recommendation 7 from our Auditor-General's Report on the Annual Financial Report of the State of Victoria: 2022–23 report, related to its management of grants?