ACT Auditor-General slams Emergency Services Agency's electric fire truck procurement process

In a report to the ACT Assembly, the auditor said the procurement was initially progressed via a "limited market approach".

His report also detailed a litany of issues linked to the purchase, including a lack of accurate technical information from the manufacturer, a lack of proper operational assessment, and a rushed sign-off so the ESA could elevate its reputational status by being the first in Australia to buy one.

ESA sought to "engage [Rosenbauer] to partner in the development, design, compliance, delivery and testing" of the vehicle and an exemption was granted from the Government Procurement Act 2011 requirement to invite public tenders.

The auditor found the contract for the high-tech truck was wrapped within another, "derived from a public tender process" for the supply of five, "turn-key" urban pumpers.

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Rosenbauer won this five-pumper contract, in which it stated was proud to also provide "additional innovative solutions such as the world leading Rosenbauer CFT and subsequent digital solutions for ACT F&R [Fire and Rescue] future fleet consideration". The contract was signed in September 2020.

An exemption for the radical new machine was sought, but the auditor described its supporting documentation as "poor" and a promised feasibility study into the project didn't emerge.

Neither did a range of other supporting documents, such as "processes to determine the utility of the vehicle" and project management activities to "evaluate the prototype and further investigate the ... vehicle's whole-of-life benefits for the ACT community".

Rosenbauer provided detailed and specific information but "the detailed information ... related to a conventional diesel fire truck", the auditor reported.

"The tender evaluation report that was subsequently produced did not reference the hybrid-electric fire truck, or otherwise identify it as being a factor in the tender evaluation team's recommendation," the audit report stated.

An executive brief on a single procurement threshold exemption was signed off by the acting director-general of the Justice and Community Safety (JACS) directorate.

A quick response was sought so ESA could grab some national kudos and as the brief described, "announce the procurement at the Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authority Council conference on 28-29 August 2019, and be the first state in Australia to progress an electric fire appliance".

The business case for the truck sought $2.34 million in funding, including $1.62 million in capital expenditure and $716,000 for expenses related to the purchase.

In a brief to cabinet on the purchase, it was acknowledged the project was innovative and carried "a level of risk" but that the risks would be "managed by an ACT government project team".

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