A performance audit to determine whether the purchase of an air traffic control system by the Department of Defence and Airservices Australia was value for money has found it could not be sure.
In his report, OneSKY: Contractual Arrangements, Auditor-General, Grant Hehir examined the $1.5 billion contract’s progress which would lead to military and civilian air traffic being controlled by the same OneSKY Australia system.
He said the plan originated in a 2009 National Aviation White Paper which saw benefits in synchronising civil and military air traffic management.
He found the purchasing project saw its first light in May 2010 when Requests for Information were issued and negiotiations commenced with the successful tenderer in September 2014.
“Important changes were made after the successful tenderer was selected, to the timeframe for delivery, scope of work, type of contract and price,” Mr Hehir said.
“Shortcomings in the application of that framework mean that value for money has not been adequately demonstrated,” he said.
“If the current contracted timeframes are achieved, there will be a more than 10-year delay (from 2015 to 2026) in the replacement of the existing separate civil and military systems,” Mr Hehir said.
“Delays with tender evaluation activities were exacerbated by even longer delays in the negotiation phase. Negotiations took so long that the offer submitted by the successful tenderer expired and the lives of the existing separate systems needed to be further extended. “
He said his audit revealed there was inadequate assurance that the acquisition price was consistent with a value for money outcome.
The Auditor-General’s full online report can be accessed at this PS News link and a 50-page printed copy downloaded from this link.
The audit team was Hannah Conway, Michael Jones, Jordana Colvin and Brian Boyd.
