NZTA probe reveals $5m in disputed costs and invoice concerns on roading project
Saturday, 16 May 2026
A preliminary integrity report from NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) identified more than $5.1 million in unapproved or contested variations on a major road safety project, alongside a disputed invoice that appeared to have billed for hours worked by a staff member while she was on leave.
The September 2025 report examined the $84m Te Ara Tūtohu (Waitara to Bell Block) route improvements project in Taranaki, which involved the contracting of a consultancy firm.
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The company, which The Post has chosen not to name, rejected the allegations, saying the “picture being painted” did not reflect its experience of the project and that it was unaware of the report. NZTA told The Post issues relating to the project were the subject of an active investigation.
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Investigators found that while the consultant was originally awarded a $2.48m contract in 2019, the project had operated without a signed legal agreement since 2021.
Following Covid-19 delays, a project “reset” was drafted to adjust funding and scope, but the document remained unsigned for four years for “reasons unknown”.
During this period, the consultancy submitted 37 variations to the project. As of mid-2025, the total cost for unapproved variations and fee offers had reached $5,163,257.33, the report says.
NZTA was also investigating a potentially fraudulent invoice submitted by the firm in July 2025. The firm allegedly billed the agency $13,342.85 for 97.5 hours of work performed by a project coordinator.
However, the report found 40.25 of those hours were claimed after the staff member had already commenced a leave of absence on July 7. The report notes that the employee was never replaced during this time.
After being contacted by NZTA about the issue, the firm 'agreed to withdraw the invoice,” the report says.
Senior NZTA officials also expressed deep frustration with the firm's conduct prior to the investigation.
Rob Partridge, an NZTA regional manager and project sponsor, is quoted describing the consultants’ invoicing as “horrific” and “horrendous”, claiming the firm frequently undertook work outside of the agreed scope.
He described the consultancy firm to reviewers as “the bain (sic) of my life for the past 12 months or so” and said the firm “had been extremely difficult to deal with throughout the project”.
NZTA formally terminated the original contract on June 30, 2025, in an attempt to “draw a line in the sand” and establish a new contract with clear service standards.
In response, the firm’s leadership filed a formal complaint alleging that a senior NZTA staff member engaged in “bullying tactics” and professional misconduct.
It also threatened to stop work on the safety project entirely if new contracts were not signed by late August 2025.
However, the integrity report found no evidence to support the consultancy's claims of bullying. Instead, investigators found that its own “repeated errors” in documentation were the primary cause of delays in finalizing new agreements.
The investigating team recommended an “historic review” of all invoices submitted by the company across all NZTA projects to identify further potential irregularities.
The report also urged the agency to determine if it remains a “suitable ongoing supplier” for the agency.
The Post put detailed questions to NZTA and the firm.
In a statement, the firm said it remained contractually engaged by NZTA and was unable to comment further due to obligations restricting disclosure to third parties.
It rejected the allegations, saying the “picture being painted” did not reflect its experience of the project.
“We do not accept the allegations, inferences and characterisations that we acted unprofessionally or improperly on the Waitara to Bell Block project,” the company said.
They added: “We have never been made aware of these comments, inferences, or characterisations directed at [our] role in this project. Nor have we been involved in (or made [sic] of) any process that appears to have collated these comments.”
The firm said all work was carried out “at our client’s direction under a contract that was in place”, and that it held documented records supporting its position.
It also raised concerns about how information underpinning the allegations had been obtained and circulated, and said it supported any process ensuring fairness and accuracy.
Detailed questions sent to NZTA this week asked what action was taken in response to the report, the current contractual status of the firm’s work on the Waitara to Bell Block project, and whether it remains an approved supplier for other agency work.
The agency said, given the level of detail sought, questions would be treated as an Official Information Act request. That gives NZTA at least 20 days to respond.
“Issues relating to this project are currently the subject of an active investigation. NZTA is very concerned that this information has been improperly disseminated without authorisation, potentially compromising the integrity of an active investigation,” a spokesperson said.
The Sunday Star-Times last week revealed a confidential preliminary review into the taxpayer-funded alliance set up to rebuild roads after Cyclone Gabrielle raised concerns about spending, accommodation, surplus staffing and resistance to releasing information.
On Monday, The Post reported there are six separate investigations involving taxpayer-funded alliance contracts, totalling billions of dollars of spending.
The Serious Fraud Office is also investigating allegations of financial discrepancies of between $700,000 and $1.3 million, conflicts of interest, and preferential treatment of a subcontractor within the contractor alliance responsible for Auckland’s 200km motorway network.