Published on Monday, 9 June 2025 at 8:50:16 AM
Residents may have read about the recent local government credit card usage audit conducted by the Office of the Auditor General, (OAG) which included the Town of Victoria Park and five other councils.
In addition to mandatory annual financial audits, the OAG regularly conducts specific performance audits like this. The local governments selected for such audits are chosen at random. The Town has been selected for specific performance audits in the past.
Investigations like this are important for transparency, accountability and continuous improvement, and we welcome the findings and recommendations laid out in the report.
We would like to take the opportunity to clarify a few points:
- Media coverage has included specific examples of local government spending identified as 'lavish' or 'excessive', including oysters and champagne dinners. These examples are not related to the Town of Victoria Park's expenditure.
- Credit cards and store cards are used for a number of reasons, but never to avoid appropriate purchasing oversight. Many vital suppliers, including operational software providers, have payment platforms that do not accept invoices or purchase orders.
- The performance audit did not find any evidence of fraud or that the Town’s cardholders misused public money.
We have already started the process of reviewing the Town's current Policy, Management Practice, Procedure and Transaction Card Agreement, around the use and management of purchase cards. This will take into consideration the recommendations included in these findings, operational guidelines provided by the DLGSC, better practice guidance provided by the OAG and legislative requirements. This will then be communicated to all cardholders and monitored by the Town’s card administrators for its effectiveness moving forwards.
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