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.
Consultancy and non-consultancy contracts
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.
Annual reports contain information about actual expenditure on reportable consultancy and non-consultancy contracts. Information on the value of reportable contracts is available on the AusTender website.
Expenditure on reportable consultancy contracts
| Reportable consultancy contracts 2021–22 |
Number |
Expenditure1 $ |
| New contracts entered into during the reporting period |
- |
- |
| Ongoing contracts entered into during the previous reporting period |
4 |
125,505 |
| Total |
4 |
125,505 |
| Organisations receiving a share of the reportable consultancy contract expenditure 2021–22 |
Expenditure1 $ |
| KPMG |
95,985 |
| Elizabeth Montano |
14,706 |
| Storm IT Pty Ltd |
11,514 |
| McBeath Pty Ltd |
3,300 |
| Total |
125,505 |
1 Expenditure is calculated on a cash basis and includes GST where applicable.
During 2021–22, no new consultancy contracts were entered into. In addition, four ongoing consultancy contracts were active during the period, involving total actual expenditure of $0.13m.
This amount does not include $0.16m for the provision of independent legal advice supporting the work of the two legislative scrutiny committees and the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights.
Expenditure on reportable non-consultancy contracts
| Reportable non-consultancy contracts 2021–22 |
Number |
Expenditure1 $ |
| New contracts entered into during the reporting period |
12 |
474,938 |
| Ongoing contracts entered into during the previous reporting period |
11 |
223,432 |
| Total |
23 |
698,370 |
| Organisations receiving a share of the reportable non-consultancy contract expenditure 2021–22 |
Expenditure1 $ |
| Encore IT Services |
229,020 |
| Currie Group |
80,000 |
| CanPrint Communications |
65,857 |
| Aurion Corporation |
50,639 |
| Manuka Newsagent |
35,328 |
| Total |
460,844 |
1 Expenditure is calculated on a cash basis and includes GST where applicable.
The above table does not include a payment made in the current year to a reportable non-consultancy as it was reported in the prior year.
Advertising and market research
In 2021–22, the department did not conduct any advertising campaigns or market research.