The federal Department of Health and Aged Care “deliberately breached” legal obligations and “fell short of ethical requirements” when administrating a $2 billion grant program, an audit has concluded.  

The Community Health and Hospitals Program (CHHP) involved grants ranging from $50,000 to $150 million for services like drug and alcohol clinics, Headspace initiatives and GP outreach services for homeless patients.

The Morrison Government launched the program with $1.25 billion in funding in December 2018, five months before the 2019 federal election, then added a further $747 million to fund “associated projects”. 

But a scathing auditor-general’s report released this week found the program’s administration was “ineffective and fell short of ethical requirements”.