2005 Contract For Air Services To Middle East

Referral Of Matters Regarding The 2005 Defence Contract For Air Support Services To The Middle East Area Of Operations To The Australian Federal Police

On 2 September 2010, The Age newspaper published allegations that the successful tenderer for the 2005 Defence contract for Air Support Services to the Middle East Area of Operations, Strategic Aviation Pty Ltd, received inside help to win the contract from two Australian Defence Force members then working in the area that ran the tender. These allegations are repeated in a further article in The Age newspaper today.

Defence has assessed these allegations and determined that, if proven, they give rise to a range of potential criminal offences. In accordance with the Commonwealth Fraud Control Guidelines, Defence referred these allegations to the Australian Federal Police late last week.

As this matter is now in the hands of the Australian Federal Police, it would be inappropriate to comment further. The Minister for Defence has advised the Minister for Home Affairs this action has been taken.

The separate review Defence is undertaking into allegations of irregularities in the 2010 process for retendering the contract for Air Support Services to the Middle East Area of Operations is continuing and the tender remains incomplete at this time.

ENDS

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