A receipt for computer hardware purchased by a South Australian public servant read "fake receipt to keep Pro Master happy", a corruption watchdog investigation has found.
The Independent Commission Against Corruption prepared a report examining allegations that two public officers at the Department for Infrastructure and Transport misused their government purchase cards.
Over the course of about three years, the officers allegedly charged almost $400,000 to their cards and while most purchases were deemed legitimate, close to 10 per cent could not be accounted for.
The investigation revealed officers had likely purchased duplicates of tools unnecessarily and bought equipment not required by their section.
Evidence pointed to inappropriate conduct but could not prove corruption.
"This was due to a lack of adequate record keeping in this section of the Department," the report says.
The commission uncovered a manual receipt submitted for $2000 worth of computer hardware with the "fake receipt" message, followed by a smiley face.
'Unfortunately, the misuse of government purchase cards has been the subject of many complaints and reports dealt with by me and the former Commissioner," Commissioner Ann Vanstone said.
The commission's report, titled Buy Now, Lie Later: Corruption risks in the management of government issued purchase cards, makes five recommendations.
Among them are reassessing the need to issue employees with business cards and reviewing the internal audit program for transactions.
The recommendations have been accepted by the department which aims to address them by March 2023.
