The ACT Auditor-General will put the heat on the planning directorate over crown lease variations, as part of an expanded program of audits.
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The ACT Audit Office has laid out a program for audits over the next three years, an increase in reports from next year thanks to a $1.4 million boost in this month's territory budget.
The audit office will present two audits to the Speaker within the next nine days – one probing the activities of the former Land Development Agency in buying up rural land west of Canberra and another about how well the ACT Education Directorate is engaging with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and their families.
This coming financial year, it's set to examine the planning directorate's processes for varying crown leases and how it determines lease variation charges.
The ACT is unique in that all land in the territory is leased from the Crown for a 99-year term for a specific purpose. If a developer wants to change the lease for a block to build an apartment tower, they have to pay a lease variation charge of $30,000.
The property industry wants major reform of the charge but the unions say it's one of the few ways the public stands to gain from the rising value of land.
High profile waivers, including the $300,000 waiver then sports-minister Andrew Barr gave the Brumbies in 2009, have also been the subject of controversy over the years.
The audit office will also look into the protracted procurement of a new public housing maintenance company. The current provider, Spotless, had its contract extended to October after cost threatened to kill a two-year-long tender process.
The Auditor-General lashed Spotless in a 2016 audit for a high number of recalls and failing to follow up with tenants.
In 2019-20, the audit office will examine the Capital Metro light rail project, including the public-private partnership, the construction and the delivery of the project.
In 2020-21, the office will turn its attention to building quality, with an audit of the effectiveness of the certification process and the licensing of builders.
A Legislative Assembly inquiry is already looking into problems of building quality in Canberra this year, after widespread issues with apartment buildings.
