The Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) released a performance audit on 14 February 2017 that confirmed the Coalition Government did bypass established assessment processes for WestConnex [1].
The audit found that the project "did not go through the established processes to assess its merits of nationally significant infrastructure investments" [1].
Specifically, a $500 million advance payment made in May 2014 "led to the project being approved without the Federal Government obtaining any analysis on whether statutory funding requirements had been met" [2].
The Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development provided advice prior to the first $500 million payment "that the funding was of a magnitude not yet required" [1], yet the payment proceeded regardless [2].
The audit noted that "advice to ministers did not adequately identify or quantify the costs and risks associated with providing a concessional loan" [3].
The concessional loan itself was controversial: the interest charged at 3.36 per cent per annum was found to be "well below comparable market rates" and cost the Federal Government an estimated $640 million [1].
Labor's Role in Initial Commitment**
The audit report explicitly noted that "both the Coalition and federal Labor made commitments to funding WestConnex before the business case for the project was finalised in NSW in 2013" [3].
The report found that "the decisions by both major parties to provide support at the early stages of the project were inconsistent with the advice from both Infrastructure Australia and the Department of Infrastructure" [3].
This means Labor also departed from proper assessment processes at the initial funding stage—this was not a Coalition-specific problem but reflected bipartisan political pressure regarding the project [3].
**2.
The 2013 Coalition Policy**
The Coalition had committed in the 2013 election campaign to requiring "proper planning and approval by Infrastructure Australia for any project of value above $100 million" [1].
The failure to follow this policy represents a reversal of the Coalition's own stated position, which is concerning, but this context shows the government had initially committed to proper assessment procedures [1].
**3.
Infrastructure Australia's Role**
WestConnex was included as a "High Priority Project" on Infrastructure Australia's Infrastructure Priority List in April 2016 [4].
This suggests the project had gone through some assessment process through the independent Infrastructure Australia body, though the ANAO audit found the Commonwealth funding approval itself lacked proper analysis [2].
**4.
WestConnex is a NSW state project, and the NSW Government independently completed environmental and planning assessments under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 [5].
The federal funding assessment failure did not mean the project lacked all oversight—it had undergone NSW-based assessment processes, though these were also controversial [5].
**5.
The Audit's Limited Scope**
Minister Paul Fletcher correctly noted that the ANAO audit "had nothing to say about the substantial merits of the project" and was "narrowly focused" on "the approval and administration of commonwealth funding" [1].
The report cites the official Australian National Audit Office report released by Auditor-General Grant Hehir, which is an independent statutory authority [1].
The article presents direct quotes from government minister Paul Fletcher and Opposition spokesperson Anthony Albanese, allowing both perspectives [1].
**Did Labor do something similar?**
Yes, partially.
* * * *
According to the ANAO audit report itself, **both Labor and the Coalition made commitments to fund WestConnex before proper assessment procedures were completed** [3].
The SMH article reporting on the audit quotes the finding that "the decisions by both major parties to provide support at the early stages of the project were inconsistent with the advice from both Infrastructure Australia and the Department of Infrastructure" [3].
This indicates that Labor's pre-election commitment to WestConnex funding (before the 2013 election) also departed from proper infrastructure assessment procedures.
While the Coalition's subsequent $2 billion loan was the focus of the audit's criticism, the initial bipartisan funding commitment represented a shared departure from established processes [3].
Labor's federal infrastructure record more broadly includes the controversial National Broadband Network (NBN), which faced criticism for insufficient cost-benefit analysis, and various other projects undertaken without comprehensive Infrastructure Australia assessment during the Gillard and Rudd governments, though not at the same scale as the WestConnex federal funding.
**The Full Story:**
The Coalition Government did indeed depart from established assessment procedures when approving the $500 million advance payment in May 2014 and the subsequent $2 billion concessional loan for WestConnex [1][2].
This represented a reversal of the Coalition's own 2013 election commitment to require Infrastructure Australia assessment for projects above $100 million [1].
Bipartisan Political Support**
Both major parties had committed to funding WestConnex in the lead-up to the 2013 election, before proper assessment was completed [3].
This suggests WestConnex had become a politically bipartisan project that both parties felt compelled to fund regardless of formal assessment procedures.
Why the Shortcut?**
The NSW Government had made WestConnex a major infrastructure priority, and federal support was politically important to demonstrating Commonwealth commitment to the state.
While this rationale does not justify bypassing established processes, it shows this was not arbitrary corruption but rather political pressure prioritization.
**3.
The Concessional Loan Issue**
The $2 billion concessional loan at 3.36% interest below market rates was indeed problematic and cost taxpayers approximately $640 million [1].
Audit Recommendations**
The ANAO audit made one key recommendation: that the Department of Infrastructure improve its advisory processes and documentation for future major project funding [1].
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This was accepted by the government, suggesting the issue was systemic procedure rather than individual corruption.
**Is this unique to the Coalition?**
The bipartisan nature of the WestConnex funding commitment suggests infrastructure assessment shortcuts are not unique to the Coalition.
However, the Coalition's specific failure here was breaking its own policy commitment made in the 2013 election campaign [1].
**The Corruption Question:**
While "bypassing assessment processes" occurred, the audit did not find evidence of personal corruption, bribery, or corruption offenses.
The claim is factually accurate regarding the procedural failure: the Coalition Government did bypass normal assessment processes for WestConnex federal funding.
Additionally, the claim omits that Labor also departed from proper assessment when initially committing to WestConnex funding before the 2013 election, and that this reflected bipartisan political pressure rather than Coalition-specific misconduct.
The claim is factually accurate regarding the procedural failure: the Coalition Government did bypass normal assessment processes for WestConnex federal funding.
Additionally, the claim omits that Labor also departed from proper assessment when initially committing to WestConnex funding before the 2013 election, and that this reflected bipartisan political pressure rather than Coalition-specific misconduct.