Victoria’s Auditor-General finds 2026 Commonwealth Games cancellation cost state more than $589 million

Victoria’s Auditor-General office has today released their findings on the financial cost to the state by withdrawing from the 2026 Commonwealth Games.

The Auditor-General examined the cost of securing, planning for and then withdrawing from the 2026 Commonwealth Games (the Games) and the quality of agencies' advice to the government.

Their report found that Victoria's abandoned Commonwealth Games cost the state more than $589 million and the price estimate that tanked the event was overstated and not transparent.

The Auditor General examined the Department of Jobs, Skills, Industry and Regions (DJSIR), Department of Premier and Cabinet (DPC), Department of Treasury and Finance (DTF), Department of Transport and Planning, Visit Victoria, the Victoria 2026 Organising Committee also known as Victoria 2026 Pty Ltd, Development Victoria and five local councils.

The Auditor-General's office said agencies failed to work together noting "this waste would have been avoided if agencies had worked together better to give frank and full advice to the government before it decided to host the Games."

In April 2022 the Victorian Government signed the contract to host the Games in regional Victoria based on an expected gross cost of around $2.6 billion.

While host cities typically have seven or eight years to prepare for the Commonwealth Games, Victoria only had four years to deliver the event. This included building sports venues and athletes' villages.

In July 2023 the government decided that the Games no longer represented value for money and withdrew. It said the cost of hosting had increased to $6.9 billion.

There is significant public interest in understanding the amount of public money spent on the Games, the reasons for the increased cost and the quality of advice the public service gave to the government.

The Auditor-General concluded

• The government relied on DJSIR's business case when it decided to host the Games and determined the budget. The business case raised the risks associated with hosting the Games. But it underestimated the costs and overstated the benefits. DJSIR, DPC and DTF knew this but did not advise government to delay a decision on hosting until a fit for purpose business case could be provided.

• DPC and DTF consistently raised cost and other risks during 2022 and early 2023. But they did not advise government that hosting the Games might be unfeasible until June 2023.

• The cost estimate for the Games that the government publicly released in August 2023 of $6.9 billion was overstated and not transparent. It added significant amounts for industrial relations and cost escalation risks. But it did not disclose that the budget already included $1 billion in contingency allowances to cover these and other cost risks.

• After the government decided to withdraw from hosting, DPC quickly settled the state's liabilities.

Read more at www.audit.vic.gov.au/report/withdrawal-2026-commonwealth-games