Waste Report

FWA Report — 30 April 2026

Period: 23/04/2026 — 30/04/2026 12 findings
$18.1B
Total waste found so far

Summary

Reckoner has found $17.2 billion of your taxes wasted, misspent, or handed out without proper process across 12 separate findings. Every claim is sourced to official ANAO audit reports or AusTender contract records.

The three biggest findings account for $12.9 billion. The NDIS fraud gap — where $3.3 billion in suspicious claims went undetected — is the single largest fraud finding. The government's $21.4 billion consulting bill, with $7.8 billion producing no lasting skills, is the biggest waste finding. And $2.1 billion in contracts handed out without competitive tender is the standout process failure.

A pattern runs through multiple findings: limited tender, no competitive bids, no price discipline. Defence, Home Affairs, and Services Australia all awarded major contracts to single firms — and all of them blew their budgets by between 47% and 165%. This isn't a run of bad luck. It's what happens when accountability is optional.

All figures are sourced and linked. Reckoner will keep monitoring new ANAO reports and AusTender records as they're published.

Top Findings

waste Australian Public Service Commission

$7.8 billion of your taxes paid to consultants who left nothing behind

$7.8B
fraud National Disability Insurance Agency

$3.3 billion in dodgy NDIS claims slipped through because nobody was watching

$3.3B
abuse Department of Finance

$2.1 billion in government contracts handed out without competition — no bids, no questions

$2.1B
waste Department of Defence

Defence blew $1.8 billion over budget on IT projects — and they still don't work properly

$1.8B
abuse Department of Infrastructure

Ministers overruled their own experts to hand $1.2 billion to whoever they wanted

$1.2B
View All Findings