Tasmania's health department has revealed it is sitting on a $22.8 million stockpile of "unusable" personal protective equipment (PPE) purchased during the COVID pandemic.
The Tasmanian government has yet to recoup any money for the PPE — the majority of which has gone past its used-by date — or worked out how to dispose of it.
It is also taking legal action against a supplier of face masks that were unusable.
Responding to an opposition question in state parliament, government minister Jo Palmer said the Health Department had received expert advice to maintain a six-month stockpile of personal protective equipment during the pandemic "due to recent uncertainties in international supply chains and the critical need for certainty of supply to keep our patients, health workers and the community safe".
"The total value of the unusable PPE is $22.8 million, of this $18.6 million was purchased during 2019-20 and $4.2 million was purchased during 2020-21," she said.
"The department is investigating options for the disposal of the unusable PPE gear and no funds have been recovered from suppliers … however the supply of unusable surgical masks is currently subject to legal proceedings."
Ms Palmer told parliament that spending on PPE after March 14, 2020 was equally funded by the federal and state government as part of COVID-19 response funding.
The department did not respond to questions about how much of the $22.8 million was spent by the federal government.
A government spokeswoman said the majority of the spending was due to an unneeded stockpile of PPE going out of date.
"The supply of PPE was needed in response to the COVID pandemic," the spokeswoman said.
"It was a vital investment for public health and safety and we stand by the decision to be properly prepared to protect Tasmanians lives."
'Breakdown in procurement controls'
The government did not reveal a breakdown of what PPE went out of date and what equipment had other problems.
However, Health and Community Services Union assistant secretary Lucas Digney said he knew of a few examples.
"I'm aware they bought a large amount of masks that for whatever reason were unusable, so whether they weren't sealed properly or whatever the case might be," he said.
"I'm also aware of some oral fluid [rapid antigen tests] that were purchased that weren't able to deliver a result either way.
"But apart from that, not specifically aware of what has been bought and why it was not fit for purpose."
A 2021 Auditor-General report into the allocation, distribution and replenishment of PPE found a "breakdown in procurement controls" undermined the department's stock replenishment, placing a $2 million deposit down on $6 million worth of level-three masks in April 2020.
"However, concerns were raised about the authenticity of certification and quality of the masks which, in this case, had not been assessed by either [the Tasmanian Infection Prevention and Control Unit] or the hospital-based infection prevention and control panel," the report read.
"[The department] potentially incurred a substantial financial loss and the masks remain in storage."
'Totally inexcusable'
The Health Department did not respond to questions about where the PPE was being stored, the cost of storing it, and an estimate of how much it would cost to dispose of.
Shadow Health Minister Anita Dow said the amount spent was "staggering" and "would have to go down as one of the worst examples of waste in Tasmania's history".
"This Liberal government has made an art form of wasting taxpayers' money but this takes it to another level," she said.
"The premier should take responsibility and apologise to the people of Tasmania and order an independent investigation into how this occurred."
Mr Digney said governments all over the country were scrambling to get their hands on PPE during the early days of the pandemic, but questions need to be answered about how so much unusable equipment had been purchased.
"Tens of millions of dollars in a jurisdiction the size of ours, that's just totally inexcusable," he said.
"There needs to be some level of explanation provided from those who were responsible, I think the community expects that their resources are expended in a far more accountable fashion than that."
Other jurisdictions have also spent huge amounts on unusable PPE.
England's National Health Service wrote off $AU7.3 billion on unusable gear, including substandard protective clothing, in the first year of the pandemic, almost a third of its total PPE spend.
