A senior South Australian public servant used department funds to buy meals, drinks and entertainment and then ruled on a freedom of information request into his own expenses, the state's ombudsman has found.
Ombudsman Wayne Lines ruled the Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure committed maladministration by funding former chief executive Michael Deegan's expenses.
Mr Lines also ruled Mr Deegan personally committed misconduct by ruling on the freedom of information request.
Mr Lines on Thursday released two reports lashing the conduct of Mr Deegan, who was appointed under the former Labor government and sacked shortly after last year's election.
He found the former boss breached the public sector code of ethics by ruling on an internal FOI into his own credit card expenditure of meals, drinks, entertainment and other purchases.
Mr Lines' inquiry also said the department's practice of funding such expenses by the former chief "amounted to maladministration in public administration".
His report says the spending "was done in the absence of sufficient justification" and lacked "sufficient or any rationale".
Mr Deegan's response to the claims, which are included in the report, reject all suggestions of maladministration or misconduct.
Among the receipts reviewed was a $860 meal in Mount Gambier because the minister or ministers had left their credit cards in their hotel rooms, and a $1200 restaurant meal including $664 spent on alcohol.
The ombudsman was also critical of the department's practice of funding restaurant meals between Mr Deegan and then-transport minister Stephen Mullighan.
"I am all the more concerned by DPTI's practice of funding restaurant meals between the chief executive and other public officers," he said.
"DPTI appears to have funded at least two CBD restaurant meals between Mr Deegan and the Minister responsible for this department - at least one meeting of which involved the purchase of alcohol using departmental funds."
Mr Lines recommended the department rethink its FOI processes and that the department report back to the ombudsman in February, 2020.
The report was instigated following an FOI request lodged in December 2016 by now-Treasurer Rob Lucas.
