Australian National Audit Office finds that Defence Department failed to investigate bribery claims and manage conflicts in a major naval contract, exposing serious procurement integrity gaps

Report reveals that the Australian Department of Defence failed to formally investigate bribery allegations against its contractor, Naval Ship Management, and did not reassess contract risk or act on conflict-of-interest warnings—even when a senior official joined the contractor mid-procurement. As a result, Defence agreed to implement all nine ANAO recommendations aimed at strengthening oversight, documenting processes, and enforcing ethical procurement standards.