‘Unsuitable’ projects approved for community safety grants after ministerial visits, auditor general says

Over the five rounds of the Coalition’s Safer Communities Fund which fell under the responsibility of then home affairs minister Peter Dutton, 23 projects were ‘assessed as either ineligible or unsuitable’. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP

The Coalition used its $187m safer communities grants program to fund at least 10 projects that had been deemed “unsuitable” by the department after the project applicants were visited in person by Peter Dutton’s assistant minister, Jason Wood.

An auditor general’s report into the program released on Monday also revealed that decisions to award grants against the recommendations of the department had been influenced by the lobbying of MPs and senators. It raised concerns about applicants having direct access to decision-makers.