DTA pledges to do better after nightmare audit, committee hears

An Auditor-General's report on the Digital Transformation Agency in September revealed it had fallen short of ethical standards in regards to contracting to private suppliers and did not adequately consider value for money.

In one case, the agency increased a contract value by 40 times to nearly $5 million as it made 10 variations to its scope over two years.

Executives of the Digital Transformation Agency, who appeared at a parliamentary committee hearing on Friday, admitted the report had made a "deep impact on the psyche of the DTA" and pledged to do better.

"We failed on that condition and we are working hard to rectify that," chief executive Chris Fechner said, who was not in the top role at the time the audit was undertaken.

"I don't think many people can really understand the incredibly hurtful impact that this had on all staff on the DTA."

The Australian National Audit Office audited nine contracts worth a total of $54.5 million - including two related to the ill-fated project to develop and roll out the COVIDSafe app.

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The scathing audit's release put the small agency directly under the watch of Finance Minister Katy Gallagher, who said she would be closely monitoring their handling of contracts.

Auditor-General Grant Hehir said it would be "problematic" to single out certain bureaucrats because the issues were being driven by the "tone at the top".

"It was really the tone at the top type of issues that were driving it - you could argue - more drove what was happening in the organisation than any individual involved in individual procurement," he said on Friday.

Mr Fechner, who was appointed to the role in September 2021, said the new leadership had worked hard to improve their processes.

"Clearly, [I'm] the only accountable authority and all responsibility for the outcomes of all procurements rests with me," he said.

"But I have a very, very dedicated team now that's focused on being better."

The agency's chief executive responded "absolutely" when asked whether he was confident his staff weren't accepting gifts in conflict with any ongoing procurement negotiations.

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