Chief auditor refuses to probe alleged corruption in North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency

The Auditor-General won’t probe commonwealth spending within the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency despite claims of corruption and fraud.

NAAJA Chair Colleen Rosas.

The Auditor-General has refused to probe commonwealth spending within the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency despite allegations of corruption, fraud and a mass exodus of staff causing chaos within the organisation.

Acting Auditor-General Rona Mellor last week wrote to opposition legal affairs spokeswoman Michaelia Cash to say her requested investigation would not be completed following preliminary consultation with the federal Attorney-General’s Department because of inopportune “timing”.

Ms Mellor’s decision comes along with Friday’s resignation of NAAJA principal legal officer Nick Espie, which left senior staff scrambling to find an acting replacement at the weekend so everyday operations of the business could continue.

The Australian understands Mr Espie’s resignation was sudden and immediate, and forced the acting CEO to call an emergency meeting with the Law Society to discuss next steps.

The Australian in August revealed allegations of serious misconduct among high-ranking NAAJA employees, including that chief financial officer Madhur Evans secretly funnelled $20,000 into the bank account of chair Colleen Rosas, who had requested her pay be given to her on a credit card so as not to alert the tax office and threaten her Centrelink pension.

The allegations arose during a court case brought by former chief executive Priscilla Atkins, who claims she was sacked after she discovered corruption by Ms Evans and Ms Rosas.

Ousted NAAJA chief executive Priscilla Atkins.

Ms Evans and Ms Rosas deny the allegations, and say Ms Atkins used company funds to purchase multiple cars including a $129,000 Range Rover, and forged Ms Rosas’s signature on her contract extension document, securing her position as CEO – and $350,000 salary – for a further five years.

Ms Atkins denies wrongdoing.

Since then, Senator Cash and opposition Indigenous affairs spokeswoman Jacinta Price have written to Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus and Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney urging them to intervene, considering new allegations that employees of NAAJA are self-harming.

Senator Cash also wrote to the Australian National Audit Office to request an immediate investigation into the $83m currently being provided to the NAAJA under the National Legal Assistance Partnership.

The Australian National Audit Office has rejected the request, refusing to probe spending within the organisation.

“The (ANAO) published its 2023-24 annual audit work program (the work program) on 6 July, 2023,” Ms Mellor wrote to Senator Cash, in a letter obtained by The Australian.

“The work program reflects the ANAO’s audit strategy and informs the parliament, government entities and the public of the planned audit coverage for the Australian government sector. The timing of your request for an audit of the National Legal Assistance Partnership means that the ANAO was not able to consider such an audit in its planning for the work program.

“I have considered your request and I have decided that the matter referred should not replace other areas of audit focus identified in the 2023-24 work program in relation to the Attorney-­General‘s portfolio.”

After last Friday resignation of Mr Espie, acting CEO Olga Havnen appeared to have written to all employees at the weekend, acknowledging the “anxiety and distress many of you are feeling.”

“It is not appropriate for me to discuss anyone’s employment arrangements,” she wrote. “This information is confidential and private. I will provide further advice on arrangements for (legal practice directors) this morning once I’ve had an opportunity to speak with the Law Society.”

An NAAJA spokesperson said: “NAAJA isn’t required to have a practising legal officer or a legal practice director … Lawyers who have a (sic) unrestricted practicing certificates can provide supervision and support to restricted practicing certificate holders.”