The Commonwealth Home Support Program (CHSP) is a grants program that supports services that provide meals for older Australians. The Department of Health, Disability and Ageing is responsible for administering CHSP. CHSP will transition from a grant program to a fee-for-service model no earlier than 1 July 2027. The Future Fit Program was aimed at supporting Meals on Wheels (MoW) Australia to prepare for the transition.

The Future Fit Program aimed to improve Meals on Wheels Australia Limited (MoWA) organisational capability, including how it captures data on meal delivery services and accounts for aged care social outcomes associated with the MoW operating model.

The audit's objective was to assess the effectiveness of the Department’s administration of the Future Fit Program. The report made eight recommendations aimed at improving project governance; stakeholder engagement; evaluating project outcomes; procurement risk assessment and mitigation; the quality of value for money assessments in procurements; and records management. The Department agreed to the eight recommendations.

Key findings

• Administration of the Future Fit Program was ineffective. Objectives were not achieved.
• The Department did not establish sound governance arrangements to support the delivery of the Future Fit Program.
• Planning and conduct of the 2021, 2022 and 2024 procurements were not effective and fell short of ethical standards.
• Management of Future Fit Program contracts was not effective.