Department report flurry shows missed targets

“[Consumer Affairs Victoria] It will maintain its primary focus on underpricing in the coming year, with a strong determination to remove this deceptive practice from the property market, the annual report said.

Health

Ambulance Victoria’s latest annual report shows Victoria continues to struggle with high demand and long wait times for emergency calls.

Last fiscal year, only 65.3 percent of emergency (code 1) incidents were responded to within 15 minutes. The agency’s target is 85 percent.

The Victoria Department of Health’s annual report was also tabled on Thursday and revealed 72 per cent of emergency department patients were treated within the clinically recommended time frame in the last financial year. The ministry’s target is 80 percent.

The Department of Health’s $359,112 spending on the winter flu vaccine campaign was less than what it spent on increasing public fertility. Australia faced a record-breaking flu season this year.

Paying bills on time

Government agencies and departments struggled to pay their bills on time.

Victoria’s fair pay policy requires government agencies to pay invoices within 10 working days for contracts worth less than $3 million. But only 81 per cent of those invoices were paid by the deadline, the Victorian Small Business Commission said in its 2024-25 annual report published on Thursday.

This means that almost one-fifth, or approximately 378,382 invoices, were paid late by government agencies.

The troubled Victoria Museum managed to pay just 22 per cent of its bills on time, while Victoria Police complied with 37 per cent of that figure.

State Trustees Limited was also among the worst companies, paying 24 per cent on time.

Shadow treasurer Jess Wilson said the government needed to be a model creditor and pay small business suppliers on time.

“When the government can’t pay its bills on time, it becomes clear how bad Victoria’s finances are,” Wilson said.

roads

The huge task of repairing Victoria’s worn-out road network continues to burden the state Department for Transport.

According to the annual report of the Ministry of Transport and Planning, a total of 200,552 potholes were repaired in the 2024/25 financial year.

But road patching, which includes repairing potholes and cracks, has fallen behind schedule and has completed only 55 percent of the area on its targeted regional roads. The ministry said it was completing smaller patchwork to “prevent more significant problems” as well as incurring longer treatments and higher costs.

Only 61 per cent of regional roadworks were completed within the agreed timeframe, compared to a target of 80 per cent “due to the identification and delivery of additional works”.

Opposition roads spokesman Danny O’Brien said the road network was deteriorating faster than the government could maintain.

Roads Minister Melissa Horne told parliament Labor had spent nearly $1 billion on the road network this year.

The department achieved its road paving, rehabilitation and maintenance target in regional Victoria.

There were also delays in active transportation projects such as bicycle and walking paths. Only three of the eight planned projects were completed due to “complexities related to detailed project design and approvals.”

There have been 296 deaths on Victoria’s roads in 2024/25, an increase of nine on last year.

The report reveals that the road fatality rate increased from 4.29 to 4.46 per 100,000 people. This is the highest death rate since 2016.

According to Victoria Police’s annual report, the number of people injured in traffic accidents has fallen by 11 per cent to 18,426.

Victoria Museums

Museums Victoria’s annual report showed it received almost $14 million in extra funding from the Allan government in April, May and June this year just to pay its debts.

“Museums Victoria has received this solvency support to facilitate core activity and service levels and ensure the organisation’s ability to trade as a going concern,” the annual report said.

Loading

In August, Age It revealed that cost cuts at three of Museums Victoria’s venues – Museum Melbourne, Immigration Museum and Artifacts – mean 55 full-time jobs will be made redundant and ticket prices will be increased.

The annual report also reveals that flooding caused by a burst pipe at the museum’s Merri-bek Coburg collection facility in November 2024 “affected thousands of collection objects” and cost $2.4 million to clean up.

Law and order

Victoria Police vacancies have hindered investigations and slowed the force’s ability to solve crimes.

There were 150 police officers lost and a total of 383 personnel lost in the year ending June 30.

It fell short of its clearing targets, falling 20 percent below its target of solving crimes against a person within 30 days, and falling 26 percent below its target for property and deception crimes in the same period. Victoria Police attributed these failures to rising crime and officer shortages.

Power exceeded its $4.5 billion budget by $35 million, representing a 1 percent increase.

Meanwhile, prosecution rates across the state have improved; 91.2 percent of all cases resulted in criminal charges; Compared to the previous year, this rate was 89.3 percent.