By Deanne Jeffers
An engineering and associated services contract awarded to a former team leader within Greater Shepparton City Council’s Engineering Department will remain in place, after an independent legal review found no grounds to discontinue it, according to Council.
Councillors requested the review after becoming aware that the contract, believed to be for a period of five years and valued at more than $2.4M, was awarded to Pamecs Pty Ltd, a newly formed company with limited experience that was established by a former staff member days before the contract tender opened.
It is understood that Pamecs director Mayank Gupta, aged in his late 20s, was employed by Council in February 2024 as team leader in Council’s engineering services, a position that he left on August 1 this year, before registering Pamecs’ ABN on August 5.
The Adviser is not alleging any wrongdoing by Mr Gupta.
It is understood that Councillors would not have been aware of the concerns surrounding the successful tenderer, due to the limited information provided to them under Council policies.
Last week, Council confirmed that the two-week review had concluded, and that, “The contract remains valid, with no grounds for it to be discontinued.”
Council also outlined changes it would implement for greater transparency, including updating its “deidentification process,” whereby tenderers’ names are withheld from Councillors and Executives to mitigate risks of canvassing. Rather than presenting tenders as alphabetised items, tender names will be revealed during internal briefings and remain deidentified for Council meetings.
It also said it will expand reporting templates “to build on the current Conflict of Interest Declaration by also listing any interests which have been declared,” as well as providing greater details on all identified risks, “ensuring a comprehensive assessment of any potential reputational risks.”
The Engineering and Associated Services Contract is a new arrangement that Council said is designed to deliver service efficiencies, improved customer outcomes, and cost savings.
“Our priority is to ensure the Executive deliver on the efficiencies proposed under this contract – completing work quickly, to a high standard and in a cost-effective way. This was, and continues to be, our priority,” said Mayor, Councillor Shane Sali.
“Councillors identified clear learnings through this process, including the importance of Executive informing Councillors of all relevant information. The recommendations adopted by the organisation will strengthen systems and improve efficiencies for future procurement processes.”
Multiple sources have told The Adviser that much of Council’s in-house engineering capacity has been scaled back or outsourced to external contractors in recent months. In July 2025, a departmental restructure reportedly resulted in staff redundancies.
With the review now complete, The Adviser has sought further clarification on the matter from Greater Shepparton City Council.
