Procurement

The department applies the requirements of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 and the Commonwealth Procurement Rules. No issues were identified with the department’s procurement practices during the reporting period. The department supports small business participation in the Commonwealth Government procurement market. Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) and Small Enterprise participation statistics are available on the Department of Finance’s website. The department has adopted the Commonwealth Contracting Suite for low-risk procurements valued under $200,000 and electronic systems and processes are used to facilitate on-time payment performance.

Consultants

The department engages consultants to provide specialist expertise when not available within the department, or where an independent assessment is desirable. The department uses various selection processes to engage consultants, including open tender, selective tender, direct sourcing, a panel of recognised or pre-eminent experts, or consultants who have previously undertaken work for the department or are known to have the requisite skills.

During 2018–19, two new consultancy contracts were entered into involving total actual expenditure of $14,196. In addition, three ongoing consultancy contracts were active during the period, involving total actual expenditure of $142,370. This amount does not include $173,133 for the provision of independent legal advice supporting the work of the two legislative scrutiny committees and the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights. Annual reports contain information about actual expenditure on contracts for consultancies. Information on the value of contracts and consultancies is available on the AusTender website.

Advertising and market research

In 2018–19, the department did not conduct any advertising campaigns or market research.