On 31 July 2018, the Australian Government purchased a 12.26 hectare triangular parcel of land for $29,839,026 (GST exclusive) in Bringelly NSW. The land is referred to as the ‘Leppington Triangle’ and it sits adjacent to the Western Sydney International (Nancy-Bird Walton) Airport site (the ‘Western Sydney Airport’). The land acquisition process was undertaken by the undertaken by the Western Sydney Unit within the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications (‘Department of Infrastructure’ or ‘the department’).

For financial reporting purposes at 30 June 2019, the Department of Infrastructure valued the Leppington Triangle land at $3,065,000 - a tenth of the price it had paid eleven months earlier. As required by the Australian Auditing Standards, the ANAO raised this with the department as a significant and unusual transaction.

The objective of the audit was to examine whether the Department of Infrastructure exercised appropriate due diligence in its acquisition of the Leppington Triangle land for the future development of the Western Sydney Airport.

Main findings:

• The Department of Infrastructure did not exercise appropriate due diligence in its acquisition of the Leppington Triangle land for the future development of the Western Sydney Airport. In the course of this audit it became clear that aspects of the operations of the department, both during and after the acquisition, fell short of ethical standards.
• The approach taken by the Department of Infrastructure to valuing the Leppington Triangle was not appropriate. The approach inflated the value of the land, which in turn led to the Australian Government paying more than was proper in the circumstances.
• The incomplete advice provided to decision-makers, and the inadequate response by the department when questions were raised by the ANAO, was inconsistent with effective and ethical stewardship of public resources.