Auditor General calls for more navy and defence procurement discipline

Auditor General Ian McPhee has called on the Australian Navy and Defence to cooperate on procurement and maintenance as he warned they must show greater discipline when buying.

In a report on the processes involved in providing new equipment, the Australian National Audit Office said the relevant parts of Defence involved in buying and maintaining equipment had to better share responsibility for reducing risks and sorting out problems when they arose.

"Without the application of greater discipline by Defence in the implementation of its own policies and procedures, including by having the required technical personnel in place to execute these, improved communication and collaboration across the relevant parts of Defence during a project's lifecycle, and the maintenance of adequate records to support appropriate monitoring of capability development performance, the necessary improvements in acquisition outcomes will not be achieved," the report said.

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