Redland council’s $20m fleet hit by double-dipping vehicle rort

Two audits at one of Queensland’s biggest councils have laid bare significant mismanagement of its $20 million vehicle fleet, including a rort that saw employees being given both council cars and vehicle allowances.

A leaked 2021 audit, and a 2025 audit obtained through Right to Information laws, found multiple Redland City Council employees who were offered council cars or a vehicle allowance ended up being given both, which essentially amounted to an undeclared pay bump.

The 2021 audit found the allowance amounts and vehicle costs were not formally documented, with managers paid thousands of dollars more than the council’s guidelines, and no rules around how much could be spent on the cars.

That audit found one employee was given a private car and an allowance, despite the council’s then guideline explicitly saying staff receiving an allowance “are precluded from utilising a council fleet passenger vehicle in the operational or vehicle pool at all”.

It was suggested three employees be investigated, but four years later, the issue persisted.

A 2025 audit – which the council fought to prevent this masthead from accessing for almost a year – found a “lack of monitoring controls to ensure car allowances are approved and allocated in line with prescribed requirements”.

“Internal audit noted that there has not previously been any quality assurance processes in place to review employees who may be simultaneously receiving an allowance and using a council-supplied vehicle,” the auditors said.

Two employees had both a private car and an allowance by electing to “receive part payment of an allowance due to receiving a council vehicle at a lower class (i.e. they are entitled to a Class 4 vehicle, however, have received a Class 3 vehicle and the difference paid as an allowance),” according to the audit.

“This practice (i.e. to be awarded part payment of an allowance) has not been outlined in the guideline,” it said.

Again, four years after the issue was identified, auditors told the council this practice could lead to employees receiving benefits they were not entitled to.

A council spokesperson did not respond directly to questions about whether staff had been investigated or how the problem persisted in 2025, but said all of the audits’ recommendations had been implemented.

“The [Fleet Vehicles and Vehicle Allowances] Guideline is supported with governance measures, such as regular audits and staff education for compliance, and appropriate administration of vehicle-related entitlements,” they said.

Bordering Brisbane’s south-east, the Redlands leads the state in councillor conduct complaints. Its political turbulence has played out in public ever since former mayor Karen Williams crashed her council-owned Lexus following a drinking session at the council in 2022.

The crash thrust fleet issues into the spotlight and raised questions about why the mayor was driving a luxury car valued at $65,000 that was not available through the state-run vehicle provider, QFleet.

Following the crash, the Redland City Bulletin reported the car was purchased directly from a dealer, which the council has since confirmed with this masthead.

The 2021 audit, conducted by Deloitte, provided insight into fleet management roughly a year before the crash.

It said allowances were not being calculated by the council’s own guidelines – which said employees could receive $14,000 a year, indexed to any annual pay rises – with a state public service structure used instead.

That meant Level 8 positions, all of which were offered a car or an allowance, were receiving the correct $14,000 a year, but group managers were getting $21,000, and the executive team was receiving $27,000.

For those who chose to get a vehicle, the audit found the council had not defined how much the cars could be worth, with purchases ranging from $25,000 to $73,000.

It also found there was little oversight of appropriate accessories added to cars owned by the council, another issue highlighted again in 2025, when auditors said unbudgeted accessories could result in employees receiving extra benefits or void insurance policies.

In 2021, the council had 63 private or partially private cars, and 68 commuter vehicles on the books, worth more than $4.1 million.

The entire 415-vehicle fleet was worth $19.6 million, which council spends about $4 million a year replacing.

Following the Deloitte report, the council’s internal auditor was supposed to keep the Queensland Audit Office across the implementation of the recommendations through monthly updates.

But the 2025 audit, this time conducted by Scyne, found the situation was still bad, and assessed the council’s overall fleet management processes as ineffective.

It said the council had reviewed its fleet policy and guidelines in December 2024, but “significant enhancements” were needed.

“Controls have largely not yet been operationalised to support the requirements, which has led to a high level of non-compliance,” it said.

On top of the allowance loophole and the accessories issue, the auditor identified another two high-risk issues.

It highlighted the fact that the council had not, until December 2024, monitored vehicle cost or entitlement amounts across the fleet, or whether employees with allowances were using other council vehicles.

The audit also found procurement processes were vastly underperforming, leading to a “failure to achieve value for money”, with 80 per cent of the cars tested not meeting the council’s own cost-benefit value.

The council spokesperson said senior and executive leaders no longer received vehicles and were now only offered allowances.

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