Cut-price cars, pay rises and trips by foster care charity execs face scrutiny
A New South Wales charity responsible for finding foster homes for children spent more than $40,000 of taxpayer money to send its chief executive on a "sabbatical" to the US and Europe.
Six organisations responsible for finding homes for foster children and young people are under scrutiny for alleged misuse of taxpayer funds. A NSW charity spent over $40,000 to send its CEO on an overseas sabbatical and awarded them a $120,000 pay rise, without discussion or formal approval. The charity received tens of millions of dollars under state government contracts to help over 100 children find foster homes, mostly in Greater Sydney.
The Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ) is changing the out-of-home-care strategy until 2030 and is targeting five providers for suspected fraudulent use of taxpayer funds. A confidential forensic audit revealed that the charity under-reported interest on funds, overcharged services, and did not document some assets sold, totaling $1.6 million in unaccounted-for money.
Travel expenses, such as a $41,500 sabbatical to the US and Europe for the CEO and a $8,600 trip to New Zealand for the CEO, deputy CEO, and board chair, were flagged as potentially non-compliant with the contract. Pay increases for the CEO jumped from $181,761 to $300,574, a 65% increase. The audit uncovered several other transactions that raised concerns.
The NSW government aims to introduce stronger measures around accountability and transparency in the out-of-home-care system, with contracts requiring more information on spending.
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