Red flags over local council expenditure

Concerns have been raised about weaknesses in Victorian councils’ fraud and corruption controls.

24 June, 2019

Councils should consider tender for insurance: audit

Victoria’s auditor has questioned the financial sustainability of local governments’ mutual insurance but MAV says the scheme protects councils ‘through thick and thin.’

26 July, 2018

‘Skill and talent’ key to councils’ economic development

Victoria’s Corangamite Council says a $300,000 support fund it established to attract and expand businesses in its area has contributed $9.2 million in benefits to the local economy.

16 March, 2018

Educating against corruption

The work of ICAC.

11 January, 2016

Defence opens new cyber security school at UNSW Canberra

The federal government has launched a new learning centre in the field of cyber security to act as a think-tank for experts to cook up ways to help organisations fight off potential threats.

16 June, 2014

Probe finds government consultancy gravy train ‘tantamount to maladministration’

The real price of ‘trusted advice’ has come in for a sharp reality check after an audit found no-one even knows how much public money is being spooned-out to the so-called coalition of the billing.

12 June, 2014

Melbourne traffic jams worsened by obsolete technology and bureaucratic resistance, Audit finds

A probe by Victoria’s Auditor-General says that his state’s lagging use of technology to manage roads contributing to traffic congestion with priority public transport users now also facing gridlock.

11 June, 2014

Victorian councils struggle to measure impact of shared services

A new report from the Victorian Auditor-General’s office that evaluates the use of shared services by councils has found that they have trouble measuring its impact due to a lack of baseline data.

30 May, 2014

VIC Auditor flushes out hundreds of government IT security holes

By Paul Hemsley and Julian Bajkowski A new report from the Victorian Auditor-General’s Office (VAGO) has revealed the trigger for the Napthine government’s sweeping government-wide IT security strategy overhaul after 11 government agencies were found to be highly vulnerable to potential cyber-attacks because of “inadequate” security measures. The Victoria government last week officially signed onto […]

29 November, 2013

Poor prognosis for Victorian eHealth

By Julian Bajkowski Australia’s troubled eHealth sector has been handed yet another negative appraisal after the Victorian Auditor General released a report cited “poor planning and an inadequate understanding of the complex requirements to design and implement clinical ICT systems” as the reasons for the state’s major online medical upgrade failing to deliver what it […]

31 October, 2013

Victorian Community Sector Office told to improve its game

By Paul Hemsley The Victorian Auditor-General’s Office has given a mixed grade to the cooperation between the state government and community organisations through the Office of the Community Sector’s (OCS) delivery of the Victorian Government’s $13.8 million action plan designed to strengthen the capacity and long-term sustainability of community organisations. This analysis from Victorian Auditor-General […]

18 October, 2013

Victorian Auditor-General releases interim financial audit results

The Victorian Auditor-General has tabled in Parliament the findings of the interim financial audit of local government. Among the recommendations, the Auditor-General advised local governments to assess their own policies and procedures against identified internal control weaknesses and prepare policies for declarations of interest and gifts. The report also recommended that guidance be provided for the […]

13 August, 2010

Victorian councils should centralise service costing: Auditor-General

By Angela Dorizas Victorian councils do not understand the true cost of the services they provide to the community and the extent to which they subsidise them, the state’s Auditor-General has found. In a report tabled in Parliament on Wednesday, the Victorian Auditor-General Des Pearson examined service costing and pricing policies for waste management, preschool […]

15 April, 2010

Victorian privacy rights compromised

By Angela Dorizas The confidentiality of personal information collected by government departments has been compromised, according to a report by the Victorian Auditor-General Des Pearson. The report examined lack of effective oversight and coordination of information security practices in three departments. “Neither the Department of Treasury and Finance nor the Department of Premier and Cabinet […]

1 December, 2009