The In For Establishment and Management of Funding Agreements

‐ ANAO Report No.10 2014–15 Administration of the Biodiversity Fund Program 87 funding that were under consideration by the Government at the time. However, this decision was in contrast with the department’s treatment of successful Round 2 applicants who were afforded the opportunity to execute funding agreements during the same period of time. Successful Round 2 applicants that had been approved for funding by the Minister on 19 July 2013 were advised by an email on 31 July 2013 of their success and provided with funding agreements for signature—allowing those applicants that returned their funding agreement within the 14‐day time period to receive funding for their projects. 123

6.11 While

the records retained by Environment do not demonstrate the basis for this differential treatment, the department has advised that it received verbal approval from the Minister’s office to send notification letters for Round 2, but not for the Investing in Tasmania’s Native Forests Round.

6.12 As

outlined earlier, the caretaker period for the 2013 Federal Election commenced on 5 August 2013 and, therefore, under the usual caretaker conventions, funding agreements were not provided to the five approved Investing in Tasmanian Native Forests round projects during that period. As part of the briefing to the new Minister as outlined above, the department advised that there were five approved applicants for this round without executed funding agreements in place with a total value of 3.84 million. As with the outstanding Round 2 and NATI projects, the Minister decided not to proceed with these projects.

6.13 A

number of stakeholders consulted by the ANAO raised questions as to why none of the projects that were approved in the Investing in Tasmania’s Native Forests round received funding. Ultimately, the incoming Government decided not to proceed with the funding of those approved projects that did not have endorsed funding agreements in place, including all approved projects in the Investing in Tasmania’s Native Forests round. As mentioned earlier, the records retained by Environment do not demonstrate why successful applicants in Round 2 were provided with funding agreements by Environment shortly after the Minister’s approval of funding, but approved applicants in the Investing in Tasmania’s Native Forests round were not. Improved documentation of the circumstances underpinning the department’s 123 The Minister’s office had emailed signed copies of letters to the successful Round 2 applicants to Environment on 26 July 2013—the same day it had also provided letters for the successful applicants in the Investing in Tasmania’s Native Forests round. ANAO Report No.10 2014–15 Administration of the Biodiversity Fund Program 88 actions in this matter would have better positioned the department to explain the basis on which decisions were taken. Timing and budget profiles for Round 1 funding agreements

6.14 In