An audit has questioned the value for taxpayer money and accuracy of information in the coalition government's advertising campaign promoting the Powering Forward energy policy.
The Australian National Audit Office on Monday released a report looking at the $210 million a year advertising spend by the government.
The report zeroed in on a number of campaigns which ran from mid-2015 to April this year.
Powering Forward was a five-phase campaign promoting the national energy guarantee, which has since been dumped following Malcolm Turnbull's departure as prime minister in August 2018.
The audit found the first phase of the advertising blitz, which ran in late 2017, breached the rules by formally being certified after its launch rather than prior.
While the audit found the campaign was accessible and relevant to government responsibilities, the environment department could not assure the auditor-general all of the statements made were "accurate and verifiable".
As well, the department gave an unclear justification as to why 3400 brochures were prepared "at the department's discretion and at public expense without authorising statements" and provided to the minister's office.
The audit also raised doubts about the impact of the $30 million campaign.
"The overall evaluation for the campaign's first three phases reported that its impact was limited," the audit found.
"Environment nonetheless conducted a fourth phase at a cost of $4 million (including GST). After receiving an evaluation that Phase 4 of the campaign struggled to engage the audience, Environment conducted a fifth phase at a cost of $11 million (including GST) without documenting whether this represented a proper use of public resources."
The environment department argued in its response the campaign had been very successful and almost one in three people exposed to it had taken an action such as contacting their electricity provider to get a better deal on their power bills.
"The campaign built recognition strongly, delivered clear messaging around asking for a better electricity deal and encouraged people to take action," the department said.
"The department considers that the ANAO's analysis and overall conclusion contained in the proposed report do not appropriately consider the evolving nature of the campaign."
Australian Associated Press
