The interim chief executive of the Families Commission has called in the auditors after discovering more than $400,000 was spent on staff and hospitality.
Len Cook has been the head of the commission for five weeks and is overseeing its transition into a social policy research institute.
He says he is concerned about the culture of staff purchases he has discovered and the cost of extending the contract of Australian consultant Angela Tidmarsh.
Mr Cook said he will draw a line under a variety of small costs such as whether staff should get birthday vouchers or and whether the organisation pays for people to enter a team sport.
He said an investigation will take place as part of the commission's annual audit.
However, the former head of the commission, Carl Davidson, is defending the spending on Ms Tidmarsh's consultancy.
He says the cost was justified because, when she was hired, the organisation was going through a period of restructuring and Ms Tidmarsh played a role in helping drive change.
He says the $411,000 it cost is not that significant considering it was payment over a two- year period and in Australian dollars.
Mr Davidson says the commission was audited three times in his two years there and was found to have met its financial objectives.
