Audit finds Victoria spent $39bn on Covid response, with hundreds of millions wasted

Victoria's Auditor-General's Office disclosed that the state allocated at least $39 billion to manage the Covid pandemic, but a significant portion was misused or unrecoverable. While $12 billion was directed to Covid grants, up to $397 million was paid to recipients deemed high-risk or possibly ineligible. The Department of Health discarded over $771 million of unused personal protective equipment, and Covid-related legal fees amounted to $252 million.

The Department of Jobs, Skills, Industry and Regions wrote off $72.5 million in grants and another $75.4 million paid in error, with an additional $249 million of grants flagged for eligibility checks. Treasury ceased consolidated reporting after the 2021-22 fiscal year, leaving the total pandemic cost unclear. The findings arrive amid political turnover, with Ben Carroll now premier after Jacinta Allan's resignation, and have drawn criticism from opposition figures.