Chief Executive Officers across the NT Government were requested to conduct an internal audit into all transactions between 1 July 2009 and 18 December 2015, including Ministerial travel, between their agency and travel company Latitude Travel.
Chief Executive of the Department of the Chief Minister, John Coleman said the audits have been received and one anomaly has been reported.
“The Department of the Chief Minister has forwarded correspondence relating to this one instance to NT Police for referral to the Special Reference Unit requesting further examination ,” Mr Coleman said.
“The anomaly relates to what is believed to be an inflated cost for a Ministerial travel to the United States and the United Kingdom in September 2013.
“The trip was undertaken by Minister Peter Chandler in his capacity as the then Minister for Lands, Planning and the Environment.
“Documentation at the time shows the cost of the trip was questioned by Minister Chandler, his office and the Department of Lands, Planning and the Environment.
However in light of subsequent events regarding Latitude Travel, I believe it’s prudent to seek the view of Police regarding this individual trip.”
The NT Government has also adopted the recommendations of the independent KPMG Travel Review which included establishing six monthly audits to ensure compliance with the new travel policy.
Agencies are currently undertaking this audit with some agencies procuring the services of an external auditor to complete the work. The feedback received is that there has generally been a high level of compliance with the new travel policy.
Where these audits have been conducted, a number of agencies have identified instances of non-compliance with the new Air Travel Policy that included:
non-use of single travel management provider
insufficient documentation to support Best Value Fare
official travel expenses not acquitted within seven days
official travel approved after the date of the recorded travel booking.
“Many of the instances of non-compliance can be attributed to the rollout of the new travel policy and employees familiarising themselves with the new processes. For this reason, it is expected that future audits will identify a greater level of compliance,” Mr Coleman said.
“Departments are continuing to provide staff with education and awareness of the Air Travel Policy with the aim to improve compliance results going forward,” Mr Coleman said.
The NT Government has already
taken several positive steps to improve and strengthen travel processes and
procedures and create more value for money on travel-related expenditure. This
includes:
a move to trial Corporate Travel Providers to streamline official government travel and create savings on travel expenditure. In July 2015 the NT Government made the use of Corporate Travel Providers FCm and QBT mandatory for official government travel, allowing Government to access corporate discounts. It is estimated that saving of $1.35 million will be made in 2014-15 through the use of Corporate Travel Providers.
creation and implementation of a whole-of-government air travel policy and a Ministerial and Ministerial Officer air travel policy in July 2015. This was the first time a single air travel policy was rolled out across Government and enhances process, reporting and accountability.
Adopting the majority of the recommendations from the Independent KMPG Review into Government travel . These continue to be rolled out to strengthen the NT Government’s travel policies and procedures.
Tightening of travel processes as well as the financial management and acquittal systems used to manage and record government travel. These changes will lead to greater accountability and transparency for travel across government.
The Auditor General also conducts regular independent audits of government’s compliance with policies and procedures. The results of these audits are made public.
The tender for a Corporate Travel Provider is expected to be awarded in February 2016, creating more value for money on official Government travel.