Exclusive : Russo, one of Australia’s richest women, owns companies that won multimillion-dollar government contracts under the Abbott government

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

Sussan Ley twice travelled at taxpayer expense to the Gold Coast on New Year’s Eve to attend events with Sarina Russo, one of Australia’s richest women, whose companies won multimillion dollar contracts under the Abbott government.

Standing aside as health minister on Monday pending an investigation into her travel, Ley said she had travelled to the Gold Coast on New Year’s Eve in 2013 and 2014 “at the invitation of a prominent Queensland businesswoman”.

A spokesman for the health minister confirmed to Guardian Australia that Ley had been referring to Sarina Russo, the millionaire founder of a group of training and job placement companies.

Sussan Ley stands aside as health minister while travel claims investigated Read more

Ley said the 2013 New Year’s Eve trip was “for a business lunch” and the 2014 trip was to attend the businesswoman’s “annual New Year’s Eve event”.

In a statement on Monday, Russo backed Ley’s account and said “every time I met with her it related to her portfolio or the government at hand”.

Under the Abbott government Sarina Russo Job Access won two major federal government contracts with the department of education and training through open tender.

The contracts in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory were worth $41.2m and $4.4m respectively. They began in June and July 2015 and expire in June 2018.

Sarina Russo Job Access is a provider of Jobactive services, which include job placement and the work for the dole scheme. The contracts reportedly helped Russo expand her business from 25 to 95 offices to provide Jobactive and apprenticeship programs for job seekers.

In her statement, Russo heaped praise on Ley saying she respected and admired her, and Ley had “worked diligently in every portfolio and has made a difference”.

“Our focus should be to continue to make AUSTRALIA [sic] great and this is what the minister has always done.”

Russo said she was happy to support the investigation into Ley’s travel expenses, if required.

In June 2015 Russo posted a photo of herself with Ley, commenting that the then health and sport minister was “a great believer that health equates to loving your job or at least having a job”.

In 2015 BRW listed Russo on its Rich Women list, ranking her 13th with wealth of $103m. Russo’s companies have donated to both major political parties. Most recently, Sarina Russo Job Access made two $1,100 payments to the Labor Party in 2014-15, listed as other receipts.

In June 2010 Sarina Russo Job Access donated $20,000 to the federal Liberal party.

Asked at a press conference in Albury about the purpose of the 2013 meeting on the Gold Coast with the businesswoman, Ley said it was to discuss the incoming Coalition government’s “agenda around particular education and training issues”.

She said the meeting had “reflected on what the government could do to make sure that we recognised the needs of everyone in these important areas”.

Sussan Ley bought $795,000 flat on impulse on taxpayer-funded trip Read more

“So what I’m saying is they were business conversations and they were important conversations to the future of our government’s agenda.”

Ley said she was “very confident” the investigation would show she had not broken travel entitlement rules, including that the two New Year’s Eve trips were for government business. The investigation was sparked after the revelation Ley had charged taxpayers for a trip to the Gold Coast for government business during which she bought a $795,000 apartment as an investment property.

The trip brought to light extensive taxpayer-funded travel to the Gold Coast by the health minister, including 37 nights’ accommodation since 2013 and 27 flights in and out of the Gold Coast over the same period.

Ley apologised and offered to pay back travel claims for the trip on which she bought the apartment and three travel expenses on other trips to the Gold Coast.