Key crossbenchers are looking to harness Labor’s anti-corruption agenda for more oversight. 

Indi MP Helen Haines will reportedly introduce legislation that mirrors reforms previously advocated by Labor frontbenchers, including current Finance Minister Katy Gallagher, mandating rigorous criteria for all government grants. 

The measures cover publicly available criteria, merit-based selection processes, and the establishment of a new parliamentary committee for grant review. 

The proposal also calls for departments to report grants exceeding $100 million to parliament and requires ministers to justify deviations from departmental advice in grant allocations.

“Taxpayer money should be spent on the needs of communities not the wants of the major parties,” Dr Haines says, calling for a switch to strictly evidence-based funding decisions.

The bill also targets improved accountability within government agencies and businesses, mandating explanations for compliance with investment mandates, such as those governing the Housing Australia Future Fund.

“Australians know when they’re getting pork barrelled, they know they are getting ripped off, it lacks integrity and they’re sick of it,” Dr Haines says. 

Recent analysis found less than 17 percent of federal government business grants undergo proper competitive assessments, with around $1 billion of taxpayers’ money distributed annually with minimal oversight. 

From 2018 to 2022, approximately $540 million was allocated through ad hoc grants, largely at ministerial discretion and without significant public scrutiny.

With around $70 billion spent on government grants over five years, and $14 billion annually across 29,000 grants, the push for transparency and accountability is critical. 

This legislative effort, developed with the Centre for Public Integrity, attempts to eradicate the misuse of public funds and restore public trust in governmental grant programs.