What I've found
Ranked by dollar impactSuburban Rail Loop: $34.5B to $216B — The Costliest Infrastructure Promise in Australian History
Victoria's Suburban Rail Loop (SRL) was announced in 2018 with a $50B price tag. By 2023 the Parliamentary Budget Office estimated full lifecycle cost at $216B — a 540% blowout bef...
DVA military compensation liability surged $59.7B in a single year — up 65%
ANAO's 2025 financial statement audit found DVA's military compensation provisions surged from $92.3B to $152.0B in FY2024-25 — a $59.7B increase representing a 65% jump in a singl...
NBN Co $27.5B cost blowout — 93% over original $29.5B estimate
The NBN Co's original construction cost estimate of $29.5B ultimately reached over $57B — a $27.5B blowout representing a 93% cost overrun on the largest infrastructure project in ...
11 of 14 Home Affairs SES officers skipped conflict of interest declarations on $23.8B contract portfolio
An ANAO audit found 11 of 14 Home Affairs SES officers responsible for major procurements did not make mandatory conflict of interest declarations, despite overseeing a combined po...
Victorian Big Build: West Gate Tunnel + Metro Tunnel + North East Link — $19B in Combined Overruns
Victoria's three flagship Big Build projects — West Gate Tunnel, Metro Tunnel, and North East Link — have collectively blown out by $19 billion from their original combined budget ...
Cross River Rail: $13.6 Billion Blowout — 253% Over Budget
Cross River Rail was budgeted at $5.4 billion and is now costing $19.04 billion — a $13.6 billion overrun, 253% over budget. Completion pushed from 2024 to 2029+. Workforce shortag...
Sydney Metro City & Southwest: $9 Billion Blowout
Sydney Metro City & Southwest ballooned from an $11.5B estimate to $20.5B — a $9 billion overrun. Underestimated CBD underground station complexity, design changes, vendor disputes...
BAE Systems Donated $288K to Labor and Liberal — Landed $8.37B in Defence Contracts, Including a $1.89B Direct-Source Frigate Deal Referred to the Anti-Corruption Commission
AEC Annual Returns show BAE Systems Australia donated $288,000 to the Liberal Party and Labor Party between 2018–19 and 2021–22. AusTender records confirm BAE collected $8.37 billi...
$7.8 billion of your taxes paid to consultants who left nothing behind
The government spent $21.4 billion on consultants and contractors in a single year — and $7.8 billion of it built no lasting capability. 15 firms gobbled up 62% of the consulting b...
Serco Donated $115K to Labor and Liberal — Collected $7.13B Running Immigration Detention for 15 Years, Amid Allegations of Violence, Neglect, and Self-Harm
AEC Annual Returns show Serco Australia donated $115,000 to the Liberal Party and Labor Party between 2018–19 and 2022–23. AusTender records confirm Serco collected $7.13 billion i...
Brisbane 2032 Olympics: Total Budget Unconfirmed — QAO Warned of Blowout Risk
The QAO's December 2024 report found no total consolidated budget for Brisbane 2032 has been confirmed. Venue infrastructure is already $7.1 billion (up from $4.9B in 2021 bid docu...
NSW Education: $6.8 Billion in Restatements and Delegation Breaches
Across 2021-2023, NSW Education and TAFE NSW made $6.8 billion in cumulative asset revaluations after years of incorrect building valuation assumptions. TAFE NSW also contravened t...
Up to $6 billion stolen from disabled Australians every year — and the agency admits it had 'no real control' until 2024
The NDIS paid $46.3 billion in 2024-25. The Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission estimates up to 20% is misused — $6 to $9 billion annually. ANAO confirmed that before 2024 ...
Australia's biggest defence projects blew out by $5.5 billion — just from exchange rate movements
ANAO's 2024-25 Major Projects Report found $5,512.9 million in exchange-rate-driven budget variations across 21 projects. The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter alone accounts for $3.1 bill...
NSW State Deficit: $5.1 Billion Operating Loss, $165B in Debt
NSW recorded a $5.1 billion General Government Sector operating deficit in 2024-25 — the opposite of the forecast surplus. State debt stands at $165.2 billion with interest costs o...
Australia spends $5 billion a year on Big Four consultants — and the government rejected every major reform to fix conflicts of interest
Federal government consulting contracts with Big Four increased 1,270% over a decade to $5 billion per year by 2023. PwC was caught sharing confidential Treasury tax policy with cl...
$5 billion in wrong pension payments — 3 years, every quarter a miss
Services Australia made $5 billion in incorrect age pension payments over 3 years to June 2024 — $3.67B overpaid, $1.33B underpaid. The agency missed its own 80% timeliness target ...
Boeing Donated $335K to Labor and Liberal — Collected $4.43B in Defence Contracts, Every Single One Through Direct Sourcing or Limited Tender
AEC Annual Returns show Boeing Defence Australia donated $335,000 to the Liberal Party and Labor Party between 2019–20 and 2021–22. AusTender records confirm Boeing collected $4.43...
Brisbane 2032 Victoria Park Stadium: $3.785 Billion Olympics Venue
The Crisafulli LNP government announced a new $3.785 billion stadium at Victoria Park in March 2025 as the centrepiece for Brisbane 2032 — replacing the previously scrapped Gabba r...
Sydney Metro Northwest Cost Blowout: $3.5B Over Budget
The Sydney Metro Northwest project ballooned from an initial $8.3B budget to $11.8B — a $3.5B overrun. The NSW Audit Office found inadequate risk management, scope creep, and contr...
$3.3 billion in dodgy NDIS claims slipped through because nobody was watching
The NDIS paid out against an estimated $3.4 billion in suspicious claims — and caught just $142 million of it. One in eight high-risk payments got checked before the money left. Th...
Queensland Grants: $3.1 Billion With Weak Controls, 31% of Fixes Still Undone
Queensland government entities paid $3.1 billion in grants in 2022–23 with weak controls across most programs. The QAO's audit made 110 recommendations. Two years later, 34 (31%) r...
Logan & Gold Coast Faster Rail: $3.1 Billion Blowout
The Logan and Gold Coast Faster Rail project blew out from $2.95 billion to $5.75 billion — a $3.1 billion increase. Originally a 50:50 federal-state funded project announced Novem...
CIMIC Donated $540K to Labor, Liberal and Nationals — Collected $3.1B in Government Construction, 41% Without Open Tender
AEC Annual Returns show CIMIC Group (parent of CPB Contractors) donated $539,800 to all three major parties between 2018–19 and 2022–23. AusTender records confirm CIMIC/CPB collect...
$2.7 billion gap: Australia's navy ships suffering 'catastrophic failures'
HMAS Canberra and HMAS Adelaide — Australia's two largest and most expensive warships — suffered complete power failures on humanitarian missions. ANAO found sustainment underfundi...
NBN Co went 3 years without reporting to shareholders — collected $2.4B in equity during blackout
ANAO found NBN Co failed to communicate with its shareholder ministers for three full years (September 2020 – September 2023) — the period during which it sought and received $2.4B...
Queensland Train Manufacturing Program: $2.4 Billion Blowout Hidden From Media
The Queensland Train Manufacturing Program ballooned from $7.1B to $9.5B at contract signing. The then-Transport Minister's office removed the real $9.5B figure from draft media re...
Western Sydney Airport Rail: $2.2 Billion Dispute, Delayed to 2027
The 23km Western Sydney Airport rail line faces a $2.2 billion additional cost claim from the Parklife Metro consortium. Scope creep, European train delivery delays, and contractor...
Thales Australia Donated $195K to Labor and Liberal — Landed $2.2B in Defence Contracts Through Restricted Tender
AEC Annual Returns show Thales Australia donated $195,000 to the Labor Party and the Liberal Party between 2019–20 and 2021–22. AusTender records confirm Thales collected $2.19 bil...
$2.1 billion in government contracts handed out without competition — no bids, no questions
Nearly half of all contracts over $200,000 bypassed open competition. No bids invited, no price checks, no documented justification in 38% of cases. $2.1 billion in taxpayer money ...
$2 billion in health grants handed out as 'captain's picks' — no applications, no merit, just ministerial discretion
The Community Health and Hospitals Program distributed $2 billion in health grants without a formal application process, breaching grant guidelines. Projects were chosen by ministe...
DEWR's $1.9B Workforce Australia — 40% of placements last under 13 weeks, no outcome baseline
ANAO found DEWR's procurement of $1.9B in employment services under Workforce Australia lacked competitive tension, with many regions having only one provider. DEWR has not establi...
Defence blew $1.8 billion over budget on IT projects — and they still don't work properly
Defence's 12 biggest IT contracts all went over budget, by an average of 47%. The total blowout: $1.8 billion above what was approved. 11 of 12 contracts had no proper performance ...
WestConnex Motorway: $5.3B Government Subsidy for a Tollway Nobody Owns Anymore
The NSW Government injected $5.3 billion in subsidies and equity into WestConnex before selling it to Transurban for $9.26 billion in 2018. The NSW Audit Office found the business ...
$1.5 billion in medication claims stuck unprocessed — while pharmacists wait and patients are delayed
Services Australia has $1.5 billion in uncertified Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme claims as of June 2024. The agency measures its own performance with metrics that count transferre...
Queensland Councils: $1.34 Billion in "Found Assets" — Roads That Didn't Exist on Paper
Between 2020 and 2025, Queensland councils discovered $1.34 billion in previously unreported assets — roads, footpaths, and drainage infrastructure they did not know they owned. Re...
Ministers overruled their own experts to hand $1.2 billion to whoever they wanted
Ministers intervened to change grant outcomes in nearly a quarter of assessed applications — overriding the recommendations of the public servants they employ. $1.2 billion in gran...
A $1.2 billion no-bid munitions deal — and the defence official who handed it out was accepting champagne from the winner
Defence awarded Thales Australia a $1.2 billion sole-source contract for munitions supply without competitive tender. ANAO identified "important governance failures and probity gap...
Sydney CBD & South East Light Rail: $1 Billion Blowout
The CBD and South East Light Rail project blew out from $2.1B to $3.1B — a $1 billion overrun. Contract disputes, utility coordination failures with Ausgrid and Sydney Water, and c...
DTA: all 4 sampled procurements had wrong AusTender data; $1B IBM arrangement under AFP fraud investigation
ANAO found all four DTA procurement samples reviewed had incorrect AusTender reporting, with 112 late filings in a single year — the worst compliance rate of any agency sampled. Se...
Paladin Donated $70K to Labor and Liberal — A Company Registered to a Beach Shack Collected $948M in Sole-Source Manus Island Contracts Without Ever Facing Competition
AEC Annual Returns show Paladin Consulting donated $70,000 to the Liberal Party and Labor Party between 2018–19 and 2019–20. AusTender records confirm Paladin collected $948 millio...
The aged care regulator spent $890 million and can't show it made a single nursing home safer
$890 million a year funds the aged care regulator. In return: just 23% of safety violations led to enforcement. Serious problems sat unresolved for 14 months on average. Providers ...
PwC Donated $270K to Labor and Liberal — Then Bagged $700M in Advisory Contracts, Including Confidential Tax Reform Work
AEC Annual Returns show PwC Australia donated $270,300 to the two major parties between 2018–19 and 2022–23. AusTender records confirm PwC received $697.4 million in federal consul...
Deloitte Donated $270K to Labor and Liberal — Bagged $683M in Consulting Contracts Across 4 Agencies, Every One Through Direct Sourcing or Limited Tender
AEC Annual Returns show Deloitte Australia donated $270,000 to the Liberal Party and Labor Party between 2018–19 and 2022–23. AusTender records confirm Deloitte collected $683.2 mi...
$550M remote Indigenous housing program delivered only 19% of promised homes
Under a $550M National Partnership Agreement on Remote Housing, NIAA achieved only 19% of the targeted new home builds for remote Indigenous communities over the program period. Se...
$550 million spent renovating the War Memorial — without ministers even being told about the contracts
ANAO found the $550 million War Memorial redevelopment was conducted without adequate ministerial oversight, prior relationships with contractors were not disclosed, and contract s...
NSW Social Housing: 33-Day Fill Times, 9,280 Applications Backlogged
NSW social housing takes 33 days to fill a vacant property — 267% longer than the 9-day target. Homes NSW had 9,280 applications awaiting initial assessment, with 4,094 outstanding...
AGD delayed child sexual abuse survivor services for 5 years after Royal Commission
An ANAO audit found the Attorney-General's Department failed to deliver specialist services for survivors of child sexual abuse for five years after the Royal Commission into Insti...
Victorian DHHS Pandemic Consulting: $1.1B to Big Four Firms During COVID — No Skills Transfer
Victoria's Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) spent $1.1 billion on external management consultants and contractors between 2020 and 2023, with 62% flowing to PwC, Delo...
Service NSW Digital Transformation Outsourcing: $2.1B in Untendered IT Contracts
Service NSW awarded $2.1 billion in ICT contracts between 2020–2024, with 74% granted through direct negotiation rather than open tender. The NSW Audit Office found the agency lack...