Integrity was lacking in the design of a multibillion-dollar fund created from the privatisation of Australia’s largest road infrastructure project, a report says.

The $5 billion WestInvest program, made possible by the controversial $20 billion sale of Sydney tollway WestConnex, lacked a business case or other economic analysis to support consideration of the potential benefits, the NSW auditor-general found on Wednesday.

“The design of the WestInvest funding program lacked integrity because it was not informed by robust research or analysis to justify the commitment of public money to a program of this scale,” the report says.

“Funding allocations through the ($3 billion) NSW government projects round did not follow the advice of the agencies that administered the program and were not aligned with the stated objectives of the WestInvest program.”

The fund aimed to build infrastructure that would improve the liveability of communities and support economic recovery in western Sydney.

Some $2 billion went to a community stream, including councils, while another $3 billion was handed to state government agencies.

The audit report notes Treasury was asked to provide the proposal for the WestInvest program within “a very short” timeframe, limiting its ability to complete a thorough analysis to support the development of the proposal.

This post was originally published on Michael West.