Victoria copped similar COVID-19 grant fraud and writes it off…

April 21, 2025

It seems that the NSW Government wasn’t the only state government to stuff up COVID lockdown compo. The multi-million dollar cyber fraud allowed to perpetuate in New South Wales, also happened in Victoria. The only difference was that whilst the NSW Government has treated its $20 million grant fraud as some embarrassing cover-up, the Victorian Government has just written off a similar amount. Read article below.

Incompetence reins and of course its not government money but the taxpayers’.

Victorian voters will recall that as soon as Labor’s Daniel Andrews won the state election i November 2014, the first thing he did was to scrap Melbourne’s East West Link road project contract, paying out $1.1 billion contractual obligation, but no tunnel link.

That was just the beginning. Over the two terms of Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews, his insatiable over-spending has left behind a state net debt above $150 billion, and dodgy accounting has deferred government liabilities onto future road users. This is after Dan the man spent well over his budget means by flogging off two public assets that were not his to privatise (1) the Port of Melbourne for $9.7 billion (copying Darwin) and (2) the Land Titles office for 2.9 billion. In March 2022, Premier Andrews agreed for Victoria to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games, only to realise the cost was too great, but in so doing wasted more than $589 million.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews – The Spendthrift

Previously, Premier Jeff Kennett binged off flogging 15 public assets (not his to sell) to reap $30 billion including the State Electricity Commission, the Gas and Fuel Corporation, the Ambulance service, Totalisator Agency Board, several prisons, etc.

What’s taxpayer wealth to governments?

‘Businesses can keep nearly $20 million in mistaken grants’

by Rachel Eddie, April 9, 2025

^https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/businesses-can-keep-nearly-20-million-in-mistaken-grants-20250408-p5lq2i.html

‘Almost $20 million was mistakenly paid to businesses and commercial landlords that were not eligible for grants during COVID-19, and the Victorian government is still writing off the losses.

Not government money

The Department of Jobs, Skills, Industry and Regions has progressively forgiven the funding paid in error, an analysis of its annual reports shows, after deciding the cash was unlikely to be recovered from almost 2000 recipients.

The department wrote off $1.385 million in 2020-21, $13.65 million the following year, then another $212,000 in 2022-23, plus $3.644 million in 2023-24, the most recent reporting period. That adds up to $18.891 million worth of grants that should not have been awarded.

A footnote in the latest annual report said these grant applications paid in the rush to keep the economy afloat “were paid in error in a prior period and … have been written off as there is little likelihood of recovery“.

The Business Cost Assistance Program and the Business Support Fund, which were both for small and medium-sized businesses, were affected, as was the Commercial Landlord Hardship Fund. The grant streams awarded funds of between $2000 and $20,000 throughout COVID-19 restrictions.

Of those mistakenly doled out, 1964 grants have been written off by the government.
The department identified processing errors during a review of its grants. Most cases of grants being wrongly awarded were because applicants gave incorrect details, identified as user error. Attempts to recover more grants awarded due to user-error continued, and those believed to have made fraudulent applications were being pursued.

Opposition spokeswoman for economic growth and industry Jess Wilson said the Coalition would refer the grant payments to the state Auditor-General’s Office for further review.

Jess Wilson:

“Whilst Victorian businesses were struggling to stay afloat during the pandemic, Labor was handling out dodgy grants to ineligible recipients – taking desperately needed money away from those in genuine need.

It is unacceptable $19 million of taxpayers’ money is lost without any proper explanation or assurances the same mistakes will not occur again. The Victorian Liberals and Nationals will be referring Labor’s erroneous grant payments to the Victorian Auditor-General for a comprehensive and independent investigation.

Labor cannot manage money, and Victorians are paying the price.”

The auditor-general, in a 2021 report into the state’s COVID-19 spending, previously found the department did not have effective fraud controls at inception because grant programs had to be quickly established.

“Although they later tried to improve controls, an internal review found [the jobs department] still had gaps that risked fraud and waste,” the Victorian Auditor-General said at the time.

The department referred The Age’s questions to the premier’s office.

“When a once-in-100-year pandemic hit, the Victorian government invested $11 billion to protect jobs and support businesses, making sure they were in a strong position when the economy reopened,” a government spokesman said.

Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Paul Guerra said government grants were a necessary lifeline during COVID-19 shutdowns and uncertainty.

Paul Guerra:

“The speed at which the support was rolled out was critical, and while the program had a significant positive impact, it’s understandable that some errors may have occurred.

If the debts being written off relate to those small and medium businesses that were later deemed ineligible but acted in good faith, then this is a smart and compassionate move by the government. These businesses bore the brunt of the pandemic, and many are still recovering – chasing minimal amounts through lengthy processes serves little purpose.

However, where there is clear evidence of fraudulent activity or businesses knowingly taking money they weren’t entitled to, we expect those matters to be dealt with appropriately. Integrity in the system is important, but so is supporting businesses to get back on their feet and rebuild with confidence.”