A new performance audit report by the Queensland Auditor-General on how effectively Government entities manage contracts for the delivery of new infrastructure projects has found that they need work.
In his report Contract management for new infrastructure, Auditor-General Brendan Worrall said the Government planned to spend $52.2 billion on infrastructure over the next four years including projects as a key element of its COVID-19 economic recovery plan.
“Given the cost and significance of these projects, they require effective contract management to reduce the risk of cost and time overruns,” Mr Worrall said.
“Effective contract management will ensure public sector entities achieve value for money and projects’ intended benefits,” he said.
“In the past, poorly managed contracts for infrastructure projects have contributed to delays and unexpected costs”.
Mr Worrall said his audit focused on the Department of Energy and Public Works and the Department of Education as they delivered approximately 60 per cent of the State’s building infrastructure projects.
“We found that the whole-of-Government framework for managing infrastructure contracts needs updating and that Departments need to improve their management of contract performance,” the Auditor-General said.
He said the framework provided some high-level guidance to public sector entities but: “it does not reflect contemporary practice, does not provide a clear and standardised approach for managing infrastructure contracts, and is not used by many entities”.
“The Department of Energy and Public Works (which is the entity responsible for the framework) has not appropriately reviewed it since it was introduced in 1999,” he said.
“Departments need to improve their management of contract performance,” the Auditor-General said.
He said he provided 11 recommendations to help entities improve their design and implementation of relevant frameworks for managing infrastructure contracts.
The Auditor-General’s 41-page report can be accessed at this PS News link.
