Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith expects her department to “recoup any payments” made incorrectly. Photo: Michelle Kroll.
The ACT Health directorate may have paid for products and services that did not match the terms of its multi-million-dollar contract with an IT consultancy, and is unable to confirm whether it got what it paid for, an internal audit has found.
Bureaucrats reportedly paid several invoices worth up to $66 million* to private company NTT for hosting the Digital Health Record, an online portal that enables the public to view their medical records.
ACT Minister for Health Rachel Stephen-Smith says she expects her directorate to do everything it can to “recoup any payments” that have been inappropriately made to NTT or any other provider.
“While I have been kept updated on this work broadly, I am disappointed that I was not explicitly briefed on the NTT invoices audit and the concerns that led to it being undertaken,” she said.
“The findings of this [audit] report are very concerning and are being further investigated. The directorate has proactively referred a number of issues to the Auditor-General and has sought their support in conducting a detailed review of invoices up to June 2023 that may have been paid without appropriate evidence of service delivery.”
The revelations came after Ms Stephen-Smith responded to questions on notice from Canberra Liberals Health spokesperson Leanne Castley during parliamentary hearings last week.
“This is extraordinary and very concerning that staff within the ACT Health Directorate are unable to confirm what was being paid,” Ms Castley said.
“The fact that the minister claims she was kept in the dark despite this issue being referenced in a report relating to funding pressures highlights a health system that is in disarray because of a lack of leadership from Minister Stephen-Smith.”
The Health Minister said the Digital Health Record’s operation won’t be impacted.
The internal audit of NTT, which commenced last year, covered invoice processing under the Health Directorate’s contract with NTT.
Interim director-general of ACT Health Dave Peffer informed directorate staff of the audit findings in an email.
“There’s a significant risk the directorate’s paid for products and services that are inconsistent with our contract,” he wrote.
“At the time of the audit, we didn’t have the ability to accurately confirm we’d received what we were paying for.
“I expect this will come as a surprise to many of you – I know how hard you work to support our health system every day.”
Ms Stephen-Smith said the invoicing issues won’t have any impact on the Digitial Health Record, which came into operation in 2022.
“While this audit identified serious issues with financial processes in the Digital Solutions Division, I want to assure the Canberra community these issues have had no impact on the practical delivery of the Digital Health Record. The Digital Health Record has improved workflow for clinicians, helped to deliver safer care for patients and enabled consumers to easily access information about their own care,” she said.
“We have and continue to see benefits from the Digital Health Record every day in the provision of high-quality and person-centred care.”
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story stated that “Bureaucrats reportedly paid 300 invoices worth up to $110 million to private company NTT for hosting the Digital Health Record, an online portal that enables the public to view their medical records.” The correct figure is $66 million.
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