P21 has largely been a success, but bureaucratic interference has resulted in cost blowouts and often inappropriate use of funds. Darragh O Keeffe reports.

The government's P21 program looks set to achieve its intended outcomes, with economic indicators showing it helped reverse the decline in non-residential construction caused by the global financial crisis. However, the recently released report of the Auditor-General into the P21 program also criticised the department of education for a one-size-fits-all approach that prevented authorities from tailoring the program to meet individual need. Within six months of the program's announcement, the education department completed three funding rounds, approving 10,700 P21 projects in around 8000...