$589 million to host nothing: what cancelling the Commonwealth Games cost Victoria

In April 2022, the Victorian government agreed to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games across regional Victoria, at an estimated cost of $2.6 billion. In July 2023 it pulled out, saying the cost had blown out to $6.9 billion.

Pulling out wasn't free. Victoria's Auditor-General found it cost $589 million, "with no discernible benefit".

Where the money went

Most of it, $380 million, was compensation paid to the Games organisers to settle the cancelled contract.

The $6.9 billion figure

The government's case for walking away rested on the $6.9 billion estimate it published in August 2023. The Auditor-General, Andrew Greaves, found that figure was "overstated and not transparent".

The estimate added large amounts for industrial relations and cost escalation risks, but didn't say the budget already included $1 billion in contingency to cover those risks. Presented fairly, the Auditor-General said, the gross estimate would have been about $5.9 billion.

The audit was just as critical of the original budget, which it called unrealistically low. It found the business case wasn't good enough for the government to make an informed decision on costs, and that departments failed to give "frank, full and timely advice".

The heads of the Premier's and Treasury departments disputed that, saying their advice was "comprehensive, frank, timely and impartial".

What the government said

Premier Jacinta Allan, who was the minister for the Games when they were cancelled, stood by the decision: "We made the right decision." Commonwealth Games Australia's chief executive, Craig Phillips, called it "a missed opportunity".

Why it matters

The Games were sold to regional Victoria as a once-in-a-generation boost. Instead the state paid more than half a billion dollars, mostly to settle a contract, and the cost estimate used to justify cancelling was itself found to be inflated.

Your share: $589 million works out to about $85 for every Victorian.

Top photo: Eureka Stadium in Ballarat, one of the regional centres in Victoria's Games plans, in 2026. Photo: CKraut, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.