‘Mind blowing’: Why taxpayers copped $500k Airbnb bill

Australian taxpayers have been hit with a $500,000 Airbnb bill to house government officials. Here’s why.

Taxpayers have been slugged $500,000 in Airbnb bills to quarantine 72 government officials.

Home Affairs leased 17 properties across Canberra after the ACT government was unable to provide suitable accommodation for officials in September 2021.

The department spent $522,067 on the holiday rentals, a Senate committee was told on Monday.

The cost of the contract with Airbnb was $344,137 but with additional costs the total amount soared past half a million dollars once Covid testing, cleaning and transportation was also factored in.

In one instance, a sum of just under $16,000 was paid to a first assistant secretary for the rental of his Airbnb before the owner was disclosed.

However, despite reporting the conflict of interest, the property was still leased.

Home Affairs boss Mike Pezzullo said he was satisfied all rules had been followed. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

“The advice I've had is that at that time there were actually no other properties available,” Border Force chief operating officer Justine Saunders said.

“Due to the tight time frame we had for the departure of the delegation, and knowing the delegation had to have confirmed quarantine arrangements before they could depart, that was the only suitable property that was available at that time.”

Home Affairs secretary Mike Pezzullo said he was satisfied rules had been followed after he launched his own inquiry into the matter.

Officials said the Airbnb properties were used following “strict parameters” from the ACT government over the suitability of home quarantine accommodation.

Labor senator Raf Ciccone said it was “mind blowing” that the only property found to be suitable was owned by the senior Home Affairs figure.

Labor said the finding was “mind blowing”.

“It just happened to be owned by a first assistant secretary or someone of that ilk? It’s just mind blowing” he said.

It followed a stunning admission from the Home Affairs boss that a pandemic plan written two years before Covid hit was not shared with Peter Dutton.

Mr Pezzullo said he and the minister were aware stress tests were being undertaken to see how the department would handle a crisis but he had not seen it.

“We did our job on the substance, we didn’t do our job on the paperwork.”

Originally published as ‘Mind blowing’: Why taxpayers copped $500k Airbnb bill