Despite Coalition allegations, an audit has found the government’s mobile black spot program has been “largely effective”.

The Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) has reviewed the federal government's $40 million initiative to enhance mobile phone coverage, which had been accused by the Coalition of favouring Labor-held electorates. 

The audit was initiated after the Coalition raised concerns about the distribution of funds, noting that 74 per cent of the projects were located in Labor electorates. 

Of the 54 projects funded in the program’s sixth round, 40 were in Labor seats, 11 in Liberal-held seats, and 44 in marginal seats.

Despite these concerns, the ANAO report found that the Minister for Communications and the Department of Communications adhered to the Commonwealth grants guidelines in the allocation process. 

“The minister, as the decision-maker, complied with relevant frameworks when awarding grant funding and in recording their decisions,” the ANAO’s report says. 

However, the report also highlighted a shortfall in the department's advisory role, noting it “did not advise the government on the relative merits of prioritising these target locations over other mobile black spots”. 

The locations were identified by the Labor Party as part of its 2022 federal election commitments.

Communications Minister Michelle Rowland welcomed the findings, saying they validated the program's integrity. 

Rowland says the current program's outcomes contrast with those under the previous Coalition government, noting that “124 out of 125 funded projects - 99.2 per cent - were in Coalition electorates”.

Still, Shadow Communications Minister David Coleman insists that the findings warrant an apology from Rowland. 

“Clearly, this funding allocation cannot be described as equitable - unless Minister Rowland's view is that 74 per cent of electorates in Australia are held by the Labor Party,” Coleman said. 

He says the audit shows that department's officials conducted themselves appropriately, but the selection of target locations was made by Minister Rowland.

The ANAO's audit was designed to assess the effectiveness of the program's design and funding allocation. 

Recommendations included enhancing data collection for strategic analysis of mobile coverage gaps and evaluating the Mobile Black Spot Program to ensure it meets its objectives.

The department has agreed, either fully or partially, to the recommendations, committing to further improvements in the program's administration.

The Improving Mobile Coverage Round, part of the Mobile Black Spot Program, aims to extend and improve mobile coverage in regional and remote Australia. 

The program allocated $37.2 million to 42 target locations, enhancing over 975 square kilometres of mobile coverage.

The full audit report is accessible here.