Eleven instances of breaches identified by report, but prime minister’s department has no data on number of alleged instances of noncompliance

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

The prime minister’s department has not suspended or removed the registration of any lobbyists who have broken rules over the past five years, despite identifying at least 11 instances of breaches.

A report published on Wednesday by the auditor general into the lobbyist register, which is managed by the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, found it was “unclear” exactly how many alleged instances of noncompliance with the rules had been reported since 2013 because of poor record-keeping.

Out of the 11 instances identified in the audit, “the department had conducted an assessment and taken steps to address the alleged noncompliance”.

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“The department did not remove or suspend any of these 11 registrants or use this information to inform future compliance activity,” the report said.

The department advises on its website any “sufficiently serious” breach will result in removal from the register.

The audit report recommended a new strategy to raise lobbyists’ and government representatives’ awareness of the lobbyist code and their responsibilities.

It also called for an assessment of risks to compliance with the code and advice on the compliance management framework, as well as a new set of performance measures.

The department’s response said the lobbyist register and code was an “administrative initiative”, not regulation, and had no legislative basis.

“The code establishes a publicly available register of third-party lobbyists and their clients, so that ministers, their staff and government officials can establish whose interests are being represented by a given lobbyist,” the department said.

It said money had been allocated to update the computer system behind the register and an awareness campaign would be launched.

