Committee Details

Consideration transferred

The Committee of the Legislative Assembly referred this Auditor-General's report to the Transport and Resources Committee. On 13 February 2024, the Legislative Assemby amended Schedule 6 of the Standing Rules and Orders of the Legislative Assembly, establishing the Housing, Big Build and Manufacturing Committee, and transferred the Auditor-General's report to the Housing, Big Build and Manufacturing Committee for consideration.

OVERVIEW

Role of the Auditor-General

The role of the Auditor-General is to provide Parliament with independent assurance of public sector accountability and performance. This is achieved through reporting to Parliament on the results of its financial and performance audits.

ABOUT THE AUDITOR-GENERAL REPORT

View:  Auditor-Generals Report 18: 2022-23—Queensland Regional Accommodation Centre (Wellcamp)

The Auditor-General’s report was tabled on 30 June 2023.

In September 2021, the Queensland Government entered into an agreement for a regional quarantine facility after a 9-month period of negotiation and assessment of current pandemic conditions. The Queensland Regional Accommodation Centre (QRAC), also known as Wellcamp, operated under a lease to the Queensland Government from 4 February 2022. It was moved to care and maintenance on 1 August 2022 and was returned to the owner on 29 April 2023 when the lease expired.

The Auditor-General has made 2 recommendations - for the Department of energy and Public Works:

• that the department expands the definition of reportable contracts in the Procurement guidelines: Contract disclosure, which support the Queensland Procurement Policy 2023, to include the purchase and lease of real property.
• that the department updates the use and disclosure of confidentiality provisions in government contracts guidelines to provide advice on when information subject to confidentiality provisions can be released due to:
  - a point in time being reached where the information is no longer considered commercially sensitive, for example, after commercial negotiations and contracting are completed
  - disclosure being necessary to meet transparency and accountability requirements including disclosure as part of an entity’s annual financial statements.

This update should also include the type of information that may be reasonable to disclose in these circumstances. This, at a minimum, should include the total value of the contract

REFERRAL

Standing Order 194B provides that the Committee of the Legislative Assembly shall as soon as practicable after a report of the Auditor-General is tabled in the Assembly refer that report to the relevant portfolio committee(s) for consideration.

The committee is responsible under section 94 of the Parliament of Queensland Act 2001 for assessing the integrity, economy, efficiency and effectiveness of government financial management by examining government financial documents and considering reports of the Auditor-General.

The Committee of the Legislative Assembly referred this Auditor-General report to the Transport and Resources Committee on 24 August 2023.