Hazzard & Dominello's Quarantine Fee caper may have created an accounting & cashflow nightmare for NSW Health, Sydney Local Health District
by Ganesh Sahathevan
Brad Hazzard
Victor Dominello
NSW Health is in charge of administering NSW's COVID hotel quarantine system for arrivals by air. Those who have been quarantined for the mandatory 14 days are invoiced for their hotel stay by Sydney Local Health District (SLHD), which is part of NSW Health. The minister ultimately responsible is the NSW Minister For Health Brad HAzzard.
The invoice however is issued, and enforced, by Revenue NSW, and the minister ultimately responsible for that is Victor Dominello, who likes to be known as the Minister For Digital.
Additionally, any queries about the invoice sent SLHD are directed to Revenue NSW.In fact, SLHD has informed this writer that it has been directed by NSW Health to do so, and cannot answer any queries about the particulars of its own invoice.In other words, the parties to the invoice cannot speak to each other; the person to whom the invoice is issued can only speak with Revenue NSW NSW with regards any concerns about the invoice.
If the invoice is not paid when it falls due, Revenue NSW will pursue the matter with the help of debt collectors. Again, NSW Health and SLHD does not get involved.
All of the above raises accounting issues for SLHD Chief Executive, Teresa Anderson, who has ultimate responsible for SLHD's financial statements, which must be prepared, signed off by her, and then consolidated into NSW Health's financial statements. The individual and consolidated statements must then be tabled in Parliament by the Brad Hazzard.
However, without actual control of the revenue, it is hard to see what Ms Andersen might be accounting for. And that is not all; SLHD incurs costs in administering the hotel quarantine system, even if it has not control of the revenue. It is in a position where the cash is going out, but there may not be anything coming in.
Questions about the above were put to Ms Andersen, but she has refused to provide answers. Meanwhile a large cash income , if not, cash deficit might be developing at SLHD, impairing its ability to provide health services to the people of Sydney.
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