The now-defunct federal Entrepreneurs Programme run by the Industry department allowed its own contractors to assist tenderers bidding for $30 million plus delivery jobs in exchange for fees, giving rise to a serious corruption allegation.
During a Senate estimates hearing on Wednesday, Industry department officials acknowledged for the first time there was a serious governance “gap” in the now scrapped Entrepreneurs Programme (EP), and revealed it is facing a compensation claim in the tens of millions of dollars from one of the unsuccessful tenderers.
The payment allegation and a botched tender for the Entrepreneurs Programme continues to dog the department, which has already paid out compensation to a dozen other tenderers of between $10,000 and $70,000 each, to cover the cost of bidding for the work.
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