The Treasury is aware of a financial management problem in the department of women, children and people with disabilities, an official said on Tuesday.

Andrew Donaldson, Treasury's deputy director general, told Parliament's appropriations committee that the department, which was recently accused of spending R6.8-million on a trip to New York, had to get its house in order.

"[This is] clearly a department that has not yet got its financial management in order," Donaldson said.

"It is a department that has considerable responsibilities for participating in workshops or conferences and monitoring development across the country, but whether it is spending too much or too little on travel I won't comment, except to say we are conscious there is a problem here."

A recent report revealed allegations of "lavish spending" on overseas trips, including a R6.8-million two-week trip to New York for a delegation of 49 officials.

The trip cost the department more than double its actual spending in the disabilities programme.

Donaldson said Treasury hoped to see "better financial management" in the department in the year ahead.

The Democratic Alliance meanwhile, has asked the SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) to probe the "failure" of the department to protect the rights of the disabled.

Party spokeswoman Helen Lamoela said last week that a formal submission would be presented to the commission on Monday.

"When the department's mandate was backed by a budget of approximately R142-million per year to co-ordinate and monitor the direct delivery of programmes to support, empower, and develop vulnerable groups, there was an expectation that tangible outcomes would be achieved," she said.

Lamoela said the department's only available annual report for 2010/11 showed 66 percent underspending in its programme for the "Rights of People with Disabilities".

There was however, overspending in the administration programme, with reports to the standing committee on appropriations indicating this programme had already spent 107 percent of its budget by the third quarter of 2011/12.

Donaldson said the department of international relations and co-operation (Dirco) also had a problem with underspending and quality of its financial reporting.

"If I look at Dirco you have a spending number here of just 53 percent," he said.

"But we know that is not right. We known there are lags in the information.

"This is very much a concern. There is no reason in the modern age why that information shouldn't flow."

He said Dirco was struggling with an outdated information flow system and that needed to be fixed.

Treasury, he said, was working with the reserve bank on a new procedure for dealing with foreign currency transactions that would contribute to better budgeting and management.