Accountability and Redress Mechanisms for Outsourced Government Services

ABSTRACT

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Australian Federal, State and Territory governments have outsourced the delivery of key public services, including hotel quarantine programs, to the private sector. Accountability should not be lost where private companies are contracted to perform public functions, especially when their actions directly impact Australia's response to the pandemic. This article focuses on the outsourcing of services in Victoria's hotel quarantine program over March to June 2020 and the reports from the COVID-19 Hotel Quarantine Inquiry. I use the Victorian program as a case study to highlight the existing accountability gap between the treatment of public and private actors under public law. This case study indicates public law accountability mechanisms are more likely to be available where decisions are made by a public agency. I also evaluate the benefits of extending private law accountability mechanisms to public authorities to remedy the accountability gap.