Taxpayers are yet to learn the full costs of a state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic despite a watchdog’s calls for transparency.
The Victorian Auditor-General’s Office previously pegged the total cost of the state’s response to the pandemic at roughly $39.8 billion.
However, in a report published on Thursday, it claimed the full figure was unclear due to a lack of cross-departmental reporting.
“There is no transparent, easily accessible reporting on pandemic spending across the whole government,” the report reads.
A 2021 report from the auditor-general recommended the Department of Treasury and Finance publish cross-departmental pandemic initiatives.
The Daniel Andrews-led government ceased doing so after 2021-22, however, a move the current department linked to a significant drop off in pandemic-related spending after that period.
“This was contrary to the intent of our original recommendation,” the integrity body said in its latest report.
It added that the government continued to incur costs well beyond the first years of the pandemic, including in ongoing legal fees and managing flawed payments.
Departments also continue to write-off the costs of expired personal protective equipment, estimated at more than $770 million over 2023-25.
The report also probed waste, finding the Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions had written off at least $72.5 million in flawed COVID-19 grants by mid-2025.
While the figure represents a fraction of the $12.1 billion grants program, the report says the full costs may be higher than accounted for.
The report comes a week after the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission published the findings of its Operation Harmonia investigation.
That probe found the Victorian government spent an estimated $257 million in COVID-19 support grants to 9000 ineligible businesses.
It also found senior public servants within the since-replaced Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions covered up the extent of those losses from their superiors.
The auditor-general also found inconsistencies continue to plague the government’s definitions of consultants, contractors and secondees.
“There is a risk that current reporting requirements may limit transparency and some reporting of expenditure on consultants may be incomplete,” it said.
Despite the transparency gaps, the auditor-general stressed departments need to respond “rapidly” to fast-changing events during pandemics.
It also said most departments had made improvements, including in the management of grants and emergency procurements.
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