The tender process for the Australian Army's new fleet of combat reconnaissance vehicles totalling nearly $4.3 billion was only "partly effective", a new Auditor-General report has found. The Auditor-General's report into a 2018 Department of Defence tender, released Thursday, highlighted some flaws in the process eventually awarded to contractor Rheinmetall in a $4.28 billion deal.
While it found Defence was effective in detailing its requirements and evaluating the tender process, the report said a number of aspects lacked other details and skipped steps, resulting in being "partially effective".
It added there were "gaps" in relevant documentation relating to the tender process as well as shortcomings in the project's management of conflict of interest.
"Defence's management in these respects has not been fully effective for a project that is developmental in nature and is to replace a capability that is expected to reach its life of type in 2020," the report read....MORE
