I posted in the other Aus forum:
Auscheck-cost-recovery-implementation-statement.pdf It says that:
AusCheck’s regulatory fees follow a ‘fee-for-service’ model, where the fee charged to each applicant reflects the delivery cost of the specific service they require.
Also that:
AusCheck’s recent under-recovery of revenue is primarily a result of delays in the ongoing work associated with the establishment of a Single Issuing Body, as well as the delivery of Major National Events for which costs could not be recovered. AusCheck has been undertaking work to establish a Single Issuing Body for Aviation and Maritime Security Identity Cards.
Recovery of revenue is dependent on the transition of cardholders to the Single Issuing Body, which has been subject to a number of delays and scheduling changes.
In addition, AusCheck’s expanding remit now includes background checks for workers associated with Major National Events, and costs associated with delivering checks for some of these events could not be recovered.
One could argue that their internal accounting problems should not count towards the delivery cost of the specific service I require ie my background check. Why should I be subsidizing the checks they cannot recover costs from, or for the government goal-post shifting incurring administrative costs external to and irrelevant to the service they are providing me?