Government Grants Programs Under the Magnifying Glass

In September 2022, the Commonwealth Government announced a Parliamentary inquiry into the administration of previous grants programs, while in NSW the Audit Office issued a report on the Bushfire Local Economic Recovery grants program in February 2023, finding the grant administration process lacked integrity, given it did not have sufficiently detailed guidelines and the assessment process for projects lacked transparency and consistency.

Anti-Corruption agencies have also been active in this space. In August 2022, the NSW ICAC issued a report on its investigation into ‘pork barrelling’ in NSW, warning that, in certain circumstances, the practice could represent corrupt conduct. The Commission recommended that government-wide guidelines relating to grants funding be issued under a statutory regulation. In South Australia, that state’s ICAC announced in January 2023 it was commencing an evaluation of the practices, policies and procedures of a number of public authorities in relation to grants administration, observing in its media release that the function of grants administration was ‘vulnerable to corruption’.

One of the major areas of concern, according to former NSW ICAC Chief Commissioner, the Hon Peter Hall KC, is that successive reports by Auditors-General (Commonwealth and NSW) that expose serious deficiencies in grant administration practices appear to have had limited deterrence value. In a statement issued on 17 March 2023, coinciding with the Commonwealth inquiry hearings into grants administration, Hall said that the … lessons in Auditor-General reports and those of parliamentary inquiries have clearly not been learned or heeded as the same or similar conduct keeps being repeated despite their condemnations.

By embedding probity-led practices in all aspects of the grants administration lifecycle – planning, assessment and decision-making – government agencies are able to demonstrate they are taking active measures to ensure the integrity of these processes. The bedrock principles of accountability, fairness, transparency, impartiality, the management of conflicts of interest and the striving for value for money are all fundamental to the responsible management of public money, whether that be in relation to procurement projects or grants-based programs.

Through its experienced probity professionals, Noble Shore is helping its clients navigate the complex probity challenges facing the administration of grant programs.