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IBAC finds millions in COVID grants paid to ineligible Victorian businesses
An investigation has found senior public officers failed to warn the government that millions of dollars went to ineligible businesses.
Victoria's anti-corruption commission has found that senior public officers failed to warn a government minister that hundreds of millions of dollars in COVID-19 business support grants were paid to ineligible recipients.
The findings, detailed in an investigation by the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC) and reported by wire services, reveal that some 9,000 ineligible Victorian businesses received the pandemic funding.
According to the investigation, the failure of senior public servants to flag the issues allowed the massive financial distribution to proceed without adequate oversight. The watchdog found that departmental officials did not properly alert the relevant minister to the risks and the ongoing payments being made to businesses that did not qualify for the support.
Details regarding which specific government department was responsible for administering the scheme, and the exact identity of the minister who was left uninformed, have not been fully detailed in the initial findings. It is also currently unclear how many of the 9,000 businesses acted in good faith or if any fraudulent activity was detected.
The exact total amount of public money lost to these ineligible businesses remains unconfirmed, though the watchdog verified the sum is in the hundreds of millions of dollars. There is no confirmation yet on whether the Victorian government will attempt to recover the misallocated funds from the businesses involved.
IBAC has not yet publicly recommended criminal charges or specific disciplinary actions for the senior public officers involved in the oversight failure. The report highlights ongoing vulnerabilities in emergency government spending and the critical need for robust bureaucratic reporting lines during crises.
Watch for how the Victorian government responds to the integrity agency's findings and whether any policy changes are introduced to recover the lost funds.
This report draws on original reporting by Wire report.
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