Auditor-General finds misuse of govt-paid parental leave, CDA funds

Some made multiple employer claims for same child, used funds for unapproved items

- Shermaine Ang

An audit of government accounts has flagged issues such as the misuse of government-paid parental leave and withdrawals from the Child Development Account (CDA) to purchase unapproved items, including adult-size sunglasses.

In a report on July 17, the AuditorGeneral's Office (AGO) noted that some parents over-declared their employment income at the start of the leave claim period. Others made multiple employer claims for the same child, with companies where they were directors or shareholders.

Three parents accounted for 26 of 55 cases of possible abuse of the government-paid parental leave scheme, involving disbursements totalling $690,000.

The Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) has reported this to the police and blocked errant employers from making further claims.

These findings were part of the AGO's thematic audit on parenthood support measures by MSF and the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA). This audit is an in-depth examination of a selected area, which may involve more than one public sector entity.

The full report by the AGO also highlighted key lapses by various ministries and public agencies for the 2023/2024 financial year.

Both MSF and ECDA were found to have put in place processes and controls to ensure proper management of the schemes. These included using technology to reduce human error in grant administration, as well as processes to check and approve the disbursement of grants.

They also had processes to monitor grants or subsidies given, and manage the cessation of grants.