The Town of Victoria Park says a Western Australian Auditor General (OAG) performance audit overstated its spending by about $600,000. PerthNow reported the figure, but the available reporting does not show the transactions or calculation behind it, and the Town’s June 2025 statement does not provide a reconciliation. The amount should therefore be treated as a reported dispute, not a confirmed audit correction, fraud, loss or recovery.
What the audit covered
The OAG report was a performance audit of purchasing-card management at larger metropolitan local governments, not the Town’s routine annual financial-statement audit. The OAG’s report page lists Victoria Park among the councils examined. In its June 9, 2025 statement, the Town said it was one of six councils included in the audit.
The audit examined controls around purchasing cards. Its findings about control weaknesses are separate from whether cardholders misused public money.
What is known about the $600,000 figure
PerthNow reported that the Town found the audit had overestimated its spending by about $600,000. The reporting available here does not identify the transactions, explain the calculation, or provide a formal reconciliation. The Town’s surfaced statement responds to the broader audit but does not substantiate the reported amount.
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As a result, it is not possible to say from these materials what specific spending was counted incorrectly or how the discrepancy arose. The figure is attributed to the Town as reported by PerthNow; it is not an independently verified adjustment to the OAG report.
Did the audit find fraud or misuse?
No. The OAG’s summary says its sample testing found no evidence that cardholders misused public money, while also identifying gaps and weaknesses in controls. The Town likewise said the audit found no evidence of fraud or cardholder misuse. Neither statement means that every transaction was tested; the OAG finding is explicitly about sample testing.
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A weakness in purchasing-card controls is not, by itself, proof of fraud or misuse. The distinction matters: the audit identified control issues, but its reported sample testing did not find evidence of cardholder misuse.
What the Town said about the spending examples
The Town said examples in the audit coverage involving oysters and champagne dinners did not relate to its expenditure. It also explained that purchasing cards were used for some suppliers whose payment systems did not accept invoices or purchase orders. These are the Town’s explanations, not a transaction-by-transaction reconciliation of the reported $600,000.
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- User-Friendly Layout - The budget planner features a user-friendly layout designed for easy navigation and organization. Each month, you'll find dedicated budget pages where you can set financial goals, track your income, and plan your expenses. Additional sections include debt trackers, savings goals, bill payment trackers, and more, making it simple to stay on top of your finances.
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What happens next
In its June 9, 2025 statement, the Town said it had started reviewing its purchasing-card policy, management practice, procedure and transaction-card agreement, with the audit recommendations and official guidance in view. That describes a review underway at the time of the statement; it does not establish that the review was completed or that particular changes were adopted.
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Sources
- Town of Victoria Park, statement responding to the credit-card usage audit, June 9, 2025
- WA Office of the Auditor General, performance audit report page
- PerthNow’s report of the Town’s approximately $600,000 overestimate finding; the publication year and underlying reconciliation are not established in the available report material.
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