Commissioner Ann Vanstone said today her evaluation would consider the “practices, policies and procedures of a number of public authorities in relation to grants administration”.

She said she would identify improvements to the way in which grants are administered by public authorities and highlight what practices are “apt to guard against corruption”.

“Grants administration is a function that is vulnerable to corruption,” Vanstone said in a public statement issued this morning.

“It involves the distribution of significant sums of public money to support business and innovation, provide emergency relief, aid projects and enrich communities.

“Without robust processes and supervision, grants programs can be exploited by the public officers administering them and by grants recipients.”

In response to questions from InDaily asking which public authorities would be evaluated and whether any particular allegations had prompted the evaluation, a spokesperson from Vanstone’s office said she would not be issuing another statement for the time being.

The spokesperson said many public authorities would be contacted in the initial stage of the evaluation and reiterated that grants administration was vulnerable to corruption.

In her statement this morning, Vanstone said she would write to “a number” of public authorities in the coming days to seek details of the grants they administer and the processes they use.

She said the responses would inform the next stage of her evaluation, including reviewing specific grants programs, conducting interviews and inviting submissions.

Vanstone said she intended to deliver a report to state parliament by the end of the year.