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March 15, 2026
Massive defence projects will no longer be subject to thorough public scrutiny after a Parliamentary committee ended an almost 20-year practice of having the Auditor-General publish regular reports on the progress of key military programs.
Defence projects are notoriously over budget and delayed, with an Auditor General's report revealing the military's 20 biggest acquisitions under way in 2024 were more than 37 years cumulatively behind schedule.
Earlier this month the joint committee of public accounts and audit quietly agreed to end the production of the "major projects report", which has been prepared by Defence and the Australian National Audit Office at Parliament's request since 2008.
Instead, the committee will "transition to a process where it examines in greater detail the Auditor-General's performance audits in the Defence portfolio", a move described as the end for transparency and accountability.
"The committee will also decide in the coming months on a structured and robust program of scrutiny that will require Defence to furnish information to the committee for its examination," a bipartisan statement from the committee stated on March 6.
"When established, the committee expects to work with the Parliamentary joint committee on defence to ensure appropriate scrutiny of the Defence portfolio continues to occur."
The Sunday Times has been told a recently established parliamentary joint committee on defence is now likely to be given primary responsibility for scrutiny of any problems on multibillion-dollar military projects.
Former Defence official Marcus Hellyer fears the move is the "final nail in the coffin of transparency and accountability" for the department and warns poor performance on large projects will now go unreported and unremarked.
"The ANAO's major projects report was the only regular reporting on the progress of Defence's biggest acquisition projects worth hundreds of billions of dollars. Now there will none," Dr Hellyer warned.
"There will be no public information around schedule performance, around project risks and how they are being addressed, or indeed what the projects is actually meant to be delivering."
A Federal Government spokesperson told The Sunday Times that "the bipartisan statement from the Parliamentary joint committee of public accounts and audit is a matter for the committee".
Shadow defence minister James Paterson said "defence is in desperate need of more scrutiny, not less" but believes the new joint committee must now accept that responsibility and be "as open as possible in doing so".
Dr Hellyer pointed out that the joint standing committee on defence meets in private.