The overall objective of the audit was to assess whether the SCSA is effectively managing the SDA with the concessionaire for the Southern Cross Station precinct.
To achieve this objective, we focused our examinations on 2 distinct phases of the PPP development, and posed the following questions:
• Design and construction phase
• Were the project construction phase risks allocated appropriately between the State and the private sector parties?
• Was the global settlement agreement consistent with the desired allocation of risks?
• Operations and service delivery phase
• Does the SDA adequately specify expected service delivery and manage operational risks?
• Do the PPP arrangements enable the effective management of the public infrastructure within the station precinct to the specified standards by the concessionaire?
• How effectively has the SCSA managed operational service issues and risks that have emerged since hand over of management of the precinct to the concessionaire?
This limited scope performance audit examined the SCSA's role in managing the completion of construction of the station and oversighting the SDA and the concessionaire, on behalf of the State.
Where possible, documentation such as the Partnerships Victoria guidance material was used to identify best practice principles relevant to the management of a PPP contract.
Our Office has previously reported to Parliament on the costs and progress of the Southern Cross Station redevelopment project. The key findings of these audits are outlined in Appendix B: Results of past audits of the Southern Cross Station PPP.