NSW Covid cleaning: $30m school contracts a caretaker convention breach, says expert

An expert has accused bureaucrats of breaching caretaker conventions when $30m in “overkill” school Covid cleaning contracts were signed off without the government’s consent.

Deep Covid cleaning at a NSW school. Picture: Joel Carrett

More than $30m worth of “overkill” school Covid cleaning contracts breached caretaker convention, one expert said, after it was revealed they were signed off by department bureaucrats.

“I don’t think it should have been rushed through during that period, it is a lot of money to be spending on something,” public administration expert John Wanna said.

The NSW Government and Education Department, however, have defended the move, describing the multimillion-dollar contracts as neither “major” or new, but “variations”.

This publication revealed how the government was spending upwards of $30m a school term on Covid disinfection, deemed “overkill” by one infectious disease expert, prompting a cancellation of the contracts moving forward.

It can now be revealed the $33.4m contracts for term two were signed during the most recent NSW Parliament caretaker period, near the end of the election campaign, and before a new minister was sworn in.

Professor John Wanna. Picture: supplied

“I do think it is a breach of the general caretaker conventions,” Australian National University and Griffith University professor John Wanna said, who commissioned Caretaker Conventions in Australasia, the country’s leading publication on the topic.

“It’s not urgent spending that needs to be signed off – contractors for school cleaning is not an imperative, urgent measure.”

Professor Wanna asked why a decision wasn’t made to wait until the new minister was sworn it, given the outlay.

“It’s not as if it couldn’t have waited a week or two,” he said.

“The department could have included it as part of its brief for the new minister, who then would have decided to sign off on them.”

Workers conduct a deep clean at Berala Public School, Sydney, in 2021. Picture: Joel Carrett

Caretaker conventions are not hard rules, although “no significant contractual undertakings should be made” during the period.

“The trick is in the wording,” Professor Wanna said. “It’s a convention, it’s not legally enforceable.”

The term two contracts cover April 26 to June 30 and, an Education Department spokeswoman said, were “variations” to term 1’s contracts.

“The enhanced cleaning of schools was enabled through variations to the existing main cleaning contracts on a term-by-term basis as required,” she said.

However, Professor Wanna said that distinction was “irrelevant”.

NSW Deputy Premier and Education Minister Prue Car confirmed she’d cancel the cleaning from term 3 onwards. Picture: Christian Gilles

“If there’s a variation and it went out to tender, they’re changing or specifying something new,” he said.

“If they went out to tender, a decision has been made. Unlike things that tick over like wages – standing appropriations – things like contracts are non-standing.”

Finance Minister Court Houssos accused the former Perrottet administration of “forgetting” about the contracts while ex-minister Sarah Mitchell said she only had oversight over term one.

It is understood the contracts were signed under the previous department secretary, not the current one, who was appointed in June.

A NSW Government spokeswoman said the contracts weren’t considered “major”.

Finance Minister Courtney Houssos accused the previous government of “forgetting”. Picture: Nikki Short

Former Education Minister Sarah Mitchell said term one contracts were signed on health advice. Picture: Gaye Gerard

“The Education Department has advised that Covid-related cleaning contracts were extended for a short-term period of three months to maintain the health and safety of students and staff during term two,” the spokeswoman said.

“The three-month extension of the contracts was considered by the department to be business as usual and permitted by the caretaker conventions.”

The cleaning contracts have been funded by the NSW Government since January, after the cost passed from the federal government.

Four companies shared 16 contracts to clean state public schools for term one and two, which will now be cancelled from term three onwards.

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