BIODIVERSITY, CONSERVATION AND ATTRACTIONS —
PROCUREMENT
904. Hon TJORN SIBMA to the minister representing the
Minister for Environment:
I refer to the following assessment
by the Assistant Auditor General on page 66 of the Department of
Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions 2021–22 annual report —
I identified significant weaknesses
in the procurement controls designed and implemented by the Department, specifically in the use of purchase
orders and authorisation limits of expenditure. The combined weaknesses
increase the risk of erroneous or fraudulent payments and ordering of
inappropriate or unnecessary goods or services.
(1) Who is responsible for the
existence of these weak procurement controls within the department?
(2) For how long have these controls
been at such a deficient standard?
(3) Can the
minister guarantee that no erroneous, fraudulent, inappropriate or unnecessary
expenditure has occurred because of these substandard controls?
Hon STEPHEN
DAWSON replied:
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question. The following answer was provided to me by the
Minister for Environment.
(1) The
accountable authority and the chief finance officer are responsible for the
design and implementation of procurement controls for the Department of
Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
(2) The
weaknesses in procurement controls were identified in the final financial audit
for the 2021–22 financial year.
(3) No erroneous,
fraudulent, inappropriate or unnecessary expenditure was identified during the
course of the 2021–22 financial audit through testing of the
procurement control system.