The Victorian government in April 2022 agreed to host the Games across regional hubs before backing out in July 2023, citing estimated costs blowing out from $2.6 billion to beyond $6 billion.

Auditor-General Andrew Greaves found the business case for the Games, developed by the Department of Jobs, Skills, Industry and Regions (DJSIR) based on estimates by EY, was inadequate for the government to make an informed decision on costs.

The business case relied on “desktop research” of what previous games had cost, an unreasonable approach that did not account for the unprecedented multi-city model and short delivery time frame.

Ana Delevska, one of three TAFE academics who authored an independent case study on the axed Games based on public information, said the “desktop review” did not include enough basic inputs.

“If a student submitted this as an assignment, missing these aspects, they would fail,” the Melbourne Polytechnic lecturer told the state parliamentary inquiry on Friday.

A copy of the Inquiry into the 2026 Commonwealth Games Bid
The business case for the 2026 Commonwealth Games relied on “desktop research”, an inquiry was told. (Joel Carrett/AAP PHOTOS)
“It doesn’t take a genius to realise there were big omissions that should have really been taken into consideration because otherwise we wouldn’t be here today.”

The research paper identified a lack of infrastructure, federal funding, transport options, accommodation and security as factors that contributed to the cancellation.

Sandra Cherro, head of Melbourne Polytechnic’s hospitality management and business program, said the original business case numbers were not realistic.

Fellow co-author Van K Nguyen said cancellation could harm the Victoria’s international reputation as an events powerhouse but conceded there was no evidence of it having had an effect yet.

She said the Games were not a good opportunity to generate economic gains for Victoria, pointing out Australia’s global isolation made it a less attractive destination for overseas travellers.

The Commonwealth Games Federation is yet to reveal a replacement host for the 2026 event after declaring its intention to announce one in May.

With the event’s future in doubt, Ms Delevska suggested a scaled down and simplified version could offer a way forward.

“Nobody really wants to pick it up so clearly nobody’s really seeing enough of a benefit versus the cost involved,” she said.

Hans Westerbeek, a Victoria University international sport business professor with 30 years of experience in the industry, said the value of the Games had declined since Melbourne hosted it in 2006.

“This decision was too political,” he said.

Prof Westerbeek previously compared the 2026 Games saga to an episode of Utopia, an ABC TV show based on a fictional authority focused on creating “announceables” for politicians.

DJSIR secretary Tim Ada and representatives from KPMG, which modelled the economic impacts of hosting the Games based on EY’s estimates, are slated to give evidence later on Friday.

EY stood by its work and said ultimate responsibility for the business case rested with the department, during a 2023 Senate inquiry.