Victoria’s auditor-general has denied responsibility for the delayed release of the Country Fire Authority annual report, contradicting Premier Jacinta Allan’s claim that its processes were to blame.
In a detailed statement issued to The Australian, the Victorian Auditor-General’s Office (VAGO) confirmed it finished its audit work in November and denied it was to blame for the firefighting agency’s failure to table the document.
Ms Allan on Wednesday told reporters the 2024-25 CFA annual report “will be published as soon as possible” and suggested VAGO was partly responsible for the hold-up, saying: “The advice I have is some of that delay was the result of Auditor-General processes.”
But in an unusually detailed statement to The Australian, VAGO said it was “not responsible for delay in tabling CFA Annual Report” and issued a point-by-point timeline “to correct the public record and maintain confidence in the timeliness of financial audits”.
VAGO said it logged the first draft of the CFA’s financial statements on September 30, cleared the final draft at the CFA audit committee on October 24, signed its audit opinion on October 31 and provided final clearance of the printed report on November 11 – meeting dates previously agreed with the CFA.
“We provided our final clearance on 11th November 2025. This was in line with the timelines requested by CFA. By conducting this check, it is important to note that we are not providing an opinion on any of the other information in an annual report,” VAGO said.
The dispute comes as a funding row intensifies over CFA budgets, with the Opposition and volunteer brigades seizing on previous annual reports showing year-on-year reductions, while Ms Allan insists funding has increased. The CFA has not released its latest annual report, limiting the ability to scrutinise Ms Allan’s claims.
The CFA’s most recent annual report shows government grant funding fell from $351.6m to $339.5m over the four years to 2023-24. Last year’s budget papers also suggest funding for fire and emergency management was estimated to drop from $484.9m in 2024-25 to a projected $400.6m in 2025-26 – but this does not take into account the additional $80 million committed last year.
