Chair's foreword

The Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit warmly commends officers of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) for their dedicated work to assist Australians across the globe, including those stranded offshore during the pandemic, and every day since. One of the most impressive things during this inquiry was the Committee’s visit to the 24-hour crisis centre.

Through this inquiry, the Committee reviews the Auditor-General’s report on the effectiveness of DFAT’s crisis management arrangements during the COVID-19 pandemic. DFAT coordinated and facilitated the return of Australians who were stranded overseas due to travel restrictions and border closures.

It is important that the Australian Public Service, including DFAT, learn from the unprecedented global crisis that COVID-19 posed, so that the Australian Government will be better prepared to assist our most vulnerable citizens during future crises.

The Committee supports the areas for improvement identified by the Auditor-General and found it peculiar that DFAT disagreed with two recommendations due to ‘framing’ but nevertheless appears to have acted on them (which is welcome).

We focused in this report on matters relating to DFAT’s data capability, response coordination, assistance for vulnerable Australians, and procurement practices under the crisis management framework (relating to repatriation flights).

Regarding the confusing and misleading public messaging to stranded Australians in 2020 and 2021, the Committee clearly notes its deep concern regarding DFAT’s evidence that no advice was provided to inform public statements made by Ministers in the previous government (including the Prime Minister). The Committee’s observation that “government ministers have a responsibility to be as fully informed by sensible and evidence-based advice from public servants as possible before making public commitments in such sensitive areas” should not have been necessary.

The Committee considers that more could and should have been done by the Commonwealth later in the pandemic regarding the lack of adequate quarantine facilities which was one of the key constraints upon DFAT’s ability to bring stranded Australians home. A response to the 2021 Halton review of hotel quarantine was never provided by the previous government.

The Committee makes several recommendations to strengthen Australian Government’s future crisis response including that:

• the Australian Government formally respond to the 2021 Halton review into hotel quarantine arrangements
• the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet incorporate human rights considerations into the Australian Government Crisis Management Framework, learning from the decision to block Australian citizens from returning from India
• the Auditor-General consider undertaking an audit of the updated Australian Government Crisis Management Framework to consider whether it adequately reflects lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic.

I thank all of the contributors to this inquiry, particularly the DFAT officers who appeared at the public hearing and facilitated the site inspection of the department’s crisis management facilities by the Committee. I also thank all Committee members who participated in this inquiry, continuing the bipartisan tradition of the JCPAA. Finally, I thank the Committee Secretariat for its support and professional excellence throughout this inquiry.

Mr Julian Hill MP

Chair