QPS have not answered questions on cost of audit looking into $240m lease for Stones Corner building

Police have not answered questions on how much they are paying for an audit to investigate how and why officers signed a lease for a new police hub that could cost up to $240m.

The site of the future police station at 433 Logan Rd, Stones Corner. Picture: Steve Pohlner

Queensland police have not answered questions on how much they are paying for an audit to investigate how and why officers signed a lease for a new police hub at Brisbane’s Stones Corner that could cost them up to $240m.

It comes after The Courier-Mail revealed the service signed the huge 15-year lease, with the option of an extension, for a building on Logan Rd to become a new police hub.

The Courier-Mail revealed the lease could cost Queensland Police Service up to five times what the owner of the building paid to buy it, which sparked an end-to-end audit on how the deal came to fruition and why it was signed.

The service has made it clear that the lease was signed before the appointment of Commissioner Steve Gollschewski.

The audit is being conducted by KordaMentha and started on August 19.

KordaMentha describes itself as a firm providing multiple services, including forensic, financial crime and real estate services.

“We help clients grow and maximise value, protect from financial loss and reputational damage and help recover value in tough times,” its website says.

QPS said the audit would look at the deal end-to-end, but has not responded to questions from The Courier-Mail on how much the service was paying to have it done, who ordered the audit, and whether this was standard practice for a lease agreement.

The site of the future police station at 433 Logan Rd, Stones Corner. Picture: Steve Pohlner

“The external audit will examine the processes undertaken and reasons for entering the lease, which occurred prior to the Commissioner’s appointment,” a spokeswoman said.

“A time frame for completing the audit has not been specified to ensure a thorough examination can be undertaken.”

Police familiar with the Stones Corner lease said it was the worst deal they had ever seen, and they were concerned it would blow out their budget.

But the spokeswoman said QPS would fund the lease, claiming the costs were less than $240m as it hadn’t taken up the eight-year extension option.

The spokeswoman said relevant checks had been done on the building, but there was little availability on the real estate market.

“The QPS undertook the planning process to find a suitable building to address future policing requirements and position the Service to best serve the needs of communities in the South Brisbane District.

“The building will house a variety of QPS operational and corporate functions to enhance services to the local community in the lead-up to the 2032 Olympics and beyond.

“A review of the market identified limited availability of similar options which could accommodate operational needs.

“Detailed due diligence investigations were undertaken, including a pre-lease condition assessment report and an independent assessment of the commercial lease terms.”

Originally published as QPS have not answered questions on cost of audit looking into $240m lease for Stones Corner building