The agency in charge of the My Health Record had planned a $100,000 training event at the SCG

Taxpayers were to foot a $100,000 bill for an extravagant get together for staff at the agency in charge of the controversial My Health Record.

Exclusive: Taxpayers were to foot a $100,000 bill for an extravagant get together for staff at the agency in charge of the controversial My Health Record.

The event at the Sydney Cricket Ground scheduled for May was intended to bring the Australian Digital Health Agency’s (ADHA) 424 staff together for a very expensive face-to-face occupational health and safety briefing.

News Corp has confirmed that the ADHA made a tentative booking at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

However, the agency says the SCG was ruled out as the venue on February 4 and “the SCG was notified of the decision not use their venue on 5 February”.

This is even though News Corp has seen an email from ADHA CEO Tim Kelsey to all staff sent on February 11 where he asks them to “save the date for an all staff meeting to be held in Sydney”.

The agency says this was because at the time, other face-to-face meeting options in Sydney were being considered, including the Agency’s office on Liverpool St. “This is no longer the case.”

The ADHA told News Corp yesterday “the staff meeting will proceed in office locations where staff are based to ensure value for money”.

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Chief Executive Officer, Australian Digital Health Agency Tim Kelsey. Picture AAP Lucas Koch

Leaked documents seen by News Corp show the ADHA picked the SCG ahead of other Sydney venues for the event, despite the majority of staff working interstate.

Enthusiastic briefings prepared for ADHA CEO Tim Kelsey said the function would involve the use of the ground’s scoreboard and field lights to create a “spectacular ambience” for the meeting, audio visual, front of house staff signage and an hour of canapes.

In addition 300 staff from Canberra and Brisbane would be flown to the event and put up at hotels costing $185 a night.

ADHA chief Tim Kelsey tried to deflect questioning about the event at last week’s Senate estimates committee suggesting and the event could be held online or at the Hellenic Club in Canberra near the ADHA’s Canberra headquarters.

“No final decision has been made,” he said.

“I’m just mindful of the public — the taxpayer-interest,” he said.

Mr Kelsey said he “just didn’t know the details” when asked if the agency was considering the Sydney Cricket Ground as a venue for this event.

However, News Corp has seen documents showing Mr Kelsey sent out a “CEO message” email on February 11 advising ADHA staff they “save the date” for an all staff meeting in “Sydney” on May 15-16, 2019.

Leaked materials show a briefing document outlining a running sheet for the event at the SCG was prepared for Mr Kelsey in January, 2019 which says the SCG is the “preferred option” for the event.

The SCG at Moore Park in Sydney is where the event was due to take place.

This reveals the event would include afternoon tea then, later, canapes and drinks on the SCG under the lights and a staff awards ceremony and a dinner on the evening of May 15.

The next day would include an optional tour of the SCG and breakfast (staff would have to pay $22 for the tour).

From 9am on May 16 there would be keynote addresses from Health Minister Greg Hunt and another by Roger Taylor who co-authored a book with Mr Kelsey called Transparency and the Open Society.

A spokeswoman for Mr Hunt said “the Minister was not invited nor approached nor aware of the supposed event”.

The Secretary of the Department of Health Glenys Beauchamp is also listed as a speaker.

Staff attending the event would be allocated to colour coded teams and take part in a lunchtime “world fair” activity where they would present posters of their activities.

With so many high-profile speakers and dining events it appears the work and training related cover for this meeting was not its main purpose.

Bureaucrats in charge of the controversial online health record have a history of indulgent entertainment.

The previous agency in charge of the record the National E-health Transition Authority (NEHTA) spent part of its $218 million budget on more than 731 functions for stakeholders, including lavish seafood dinners, after-dinner speakers, flights and accommodation in five-star hotels.

The authority spent $871,000 on taxi fares over two financial years, $118,000 on business-class international airfares and $2.1m in total on travel.

From this week nine in ten Australians who failed to opt out of the My Health Record had one created for them.

PROPOSED RUNNING SHEET FOR ADHA CONFERENCE AT SYDNEY CRICKET GROUND

DAY 1

*12pm-1pm direct bus route from City Liverpool St offices

*2pm afternoon tea at venue

*2-5pm conference

*5-7pm optional tours of the SCG ($22 per person)

*5-7pm canapes (complimentary for 1 hour) and drinks (supplied by senior management) staff allowed around the field to get to the dinner venue, stadium lights will be on

*7-10pm dinner, staff awards, cash bar for drinks

*9.45pm shuttle buses to hotel

Day 2

*8-9am option to tour the cricket ground, breakfast supplied

*9-2pm conference, team activity, lunch

*2pm shuttle buses to airport

Draft agenda items to be workshopped

*All staff to be allocated a team and colour coded

* Introduction and welcome Tim Kelsey

*Keynote Roger Taylor

*Keynote Minister Hunt

*Overview from Department of Health — Glenys Beauchamp on Agency’s work being core to Health portfolio

*Staff training session — for eg OH&S

*Cultural workshops

*Lunchtime staff sessions — world fair, each team presents a poster of activities at tables

*Panel PHN (Primary Health Network) digital offers and their experiences

*Panel key stakeholder, HISA etc

*Panel- key clinical staff and consumers engagement

*Staff awards at dinner — Jim Birch to present awards

*What role will the board play

*Team activity

Originally published as The agency in charge of the My Health Record had planned a $100,000 training event at the SCG