Home Affairs Paid Millions to Contractors Under Investigation by Federal Police, Report Reveals

A review by the former head of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) has found that the Home Affairs Department lacked “proper due diligence” when awarding contracts to companies responsible for administering the country’s offshore processing system in Nauru and Papua New Guinea. Dennis Richardson concluded that the Department had entered into arrangements with a company whose owners were suspected of trying to evade U.S. sanctions against Iran. Suspicious money movement also suggested the probability of laundering and bribery. Labor Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil received the report on Oct. 10, 2023, but released it only on Feb. 12, 2024. Other companies under investigation by the Australian Federal Police (AFP) also had contracts with the department, as did a company whose CEO was being investigated for possible drugs and arms smuggling into Australia....