Indigenous employment scheme fraud task force failed to meet

The inter-agency task force set up to probe the alleged rorting of an indigenous employment scheme had not met for five months

Northern Territory workers install solar panels in Daly River, Friday, August 11, 2017. Renewable energy has come to the Northern Territory bush, with solar power and battery storage set to provide an entire Aboriginal community?s daytime electricity needs for the first time. Around 500 residents from Daly River, more than 200km south of Darwin, will receive power entirely from the sun during the day when the solar and battery storage project is completed in September. (AAP Image/Lucy Hughes Jones) NO ARCHIVING

The inter-agency task force set up to probe the alleged rorting of a Territory Government scheme aimed at promoting indigenous employment had not met for five months prior to an audit conducted in August.

The task force was established after the Indigenous Employment Provisional Sum program introduced by the former Country Liberals government in 2014 was suspended in August last year “due to potential widespread fraud”.

In 2017, Auditor-General Julie Crisp found there was “evidence to suggest that some contractors have deliberately claimed payments under the IEPS to which they were not entitled” and the task force was created to investigate the allegations.

But in a follow-up report handed down last week, Ms Crisp found that while the team was supposed to meet every two weeks, it only started meeting again after she began her second audit in August this year.

“The terms of reference require meetings of the IAT to ‘be held fortnightly until otherwise agreed at the meeting’,” Ms Crisp wrote.

“At the time my audit commenced in August 2018, the IAT had not met for five months.

“I have been advised that IAT members subsequently agreed to meet as required, however, this decision was not documented nor were the terms or reference updated to reflected the decision.”

In a response provided to Ms Crisp and published along with her report, a Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Logistics spokesman said the task force’s meeting frequency requirements had been “verbally revised”.

“Meeting frequency for the IAT was verbally revised to be ‘as required’,” he said.

“While fortnightly meetings occur between departmental officers and the police, the IAT as a governance group are not required to meet until there are matters put before it for decision.

“Much has been done since your 2017 audit and the department is now working quickly to implement recommendations from your 2018 audit and appreciates the information provided in this report.”