Yarra Trams executives face accusations from senior staff of financial mismanagement and inappropriate handling of conflicts of interest, amid a raft of job losses at the public transport operator.
A whistleblower report submitted to the company’s management in April by Yarra Trams’ head of procurement operations alleges millions of dollars in unusual advance payments to vendors, in a late financial-year scramble to avoid penalties for missing social procurement targets.
An internal investigation into the allegations was launched immediately by the company’s senior lawyer – only for the lawyer, the whistleblower and four other procurement staff to be made redundant before it was completed.
The Age can also reveal that the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission interviewed at least one other former employee, separate from the whistleblower, regarding the same allegations.
The two separate interventions come amid a tumultuous round of job losses at the company just two years into its nine-year, $7 billion state government contract to run Melbourne’s tram network.
Since taking over in December 2024, a joint venture between global transport giant Transdev and big builder John Holland has made 36 employees redundant – most from Yarra Trams’ Bourke Street head office.
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