Services Australia’s office furniture procurements were found to have been not value for money after the agency spent $180 million on furniture, according to a report from the Australian National Audit Office released on Wednesday.

The Australian government spent an estimated $355 million on office furniture in the five years between July 1, 2017 and June 30, 2022.

Services Australia entered into 990 contracts in the same period “which accounted for 51 per cent of total spend across government”, the audit report said.

The audit office found the department “often approached one supplier, despite internal guidance to approach multiple suppliers” and did not compare prices when doing so.

These decisions limited opportunities for competitive pricing which made it difficult for the agency to demonstrate value for money in its spending.

“Officials at Services Australia did not fully follow internal processes to manage conflicts of interest and did not manage incumbency advantages in the procurements sampled,” the report said.

The department has accepted all three recommendations from the auditor to improve its processes for planning procurement arrangements and demonstrating how value for money can be achieved.

Meanwhile, the government introduce a bill to parliament on Wednesday which would put a new value of “stewardship” into the Australian Public Service list of values.

The values already include: committed to service, ethical, respectful, accountable, and impartial.

-with AAP