Primary Health Network 'potentially' misused taxpayer funding, government audit finds

Primary Health Network ‘potentially’ misused taxpayer funding, government audit finds

The Western NSW Primary Health Network was reviewed as part of the government's rolling audit program.

A Primary Health Network “potentially misused” government funds by spending $2.2 million setting up a charity it was then forced to close, a government audit has found.

The Western NSW Primary Health Network (PHN) established the charity as a subsidiary in September 2023. The idea was that it would help GP practices at risk of closure.

The cash to fund the project came from its reserves but the spending never received Federal Government approval, and when the PHN requested “retrospective approval” for the charity, called the Priority Red Health Foundation, it was told to shut it down immediately.

The Department of Health, Disability and Ageing said it would not approve the use of $10.1 million to fund the charity because it “breached the PHN’s funding agreement”.

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