Senior Victorian public servants hid loss of up to $285m from Covid grants given to ineligible businesses
Summary
Senior public servants in Victoria hid the loss of up to $285 million from Covid-19 business support grants given to businesses that were not eligible. An official report found that these officials deliberately kept this information from their bosses and created misleading reports over a long time.Key Facts
- Victoria's government gave about $257 million in support grants to 9,000 businesses that were not eligible during the pandemic.
- A special investigation by an anti-corruption commission found senior officials covered up the scale of the financial loss.
- The losses might have been as high as $285 million, but this was hidden from higher government leaders.
- Officials removed information about the losses from reports sent to the minister and the auditor.
- False and misleading information was given to a later minister claiming no errors were made and earlier ministers approved the payments.
- No wrongdoing was found against the current Victorian Premier, Ben Carroll, who received misleading reports.
- The investigation began after whistleblowers reported corrupt behavior inside the department.
- The report highlights serious failures in the conduct expected from senior public servants and aims to improve government transparency.
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