Management of financial resources

Procurement

The department applies the requirements of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 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.

Decisions to engage consultants during 2023–24 were made in accordance with the PGPA Act and related regulations, including the Commonwealth Procurement Rules and relevant internal policies.

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 2023–24 Number Expenditure1 $
New contracts entered into during the reporting period 2 79,129
Ongoing contracts entered into during a previous reporting period 5 205,190
Total 7 284,319
Organisations receiving a share of the reportable consultancy contract expenditure 2023–24 Expenditure1 $
Synergy Group Australia 137,836
Ashurst Australia 68,055
KPMG 29,182
Elizabeth Montano 16,797
McBeath Pty Ltd 11,086
Total 262,956

During 2023–24, two new consultancy contracts were entered into involving total expenditure of $0.08m. In addition, five ongoing consultancy contracts were active during the period, involving total actual expenditure of $0.21m.

This amount does not include $0.18m 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 2023–24 Number Expenditure1 $
New contracts entered into during the reporting period 6 147,767
Ongoing contracts entered into during a previous reporting period 14 404,717
Total 20 552,484
Organisations receiving a share of the reportable non-consultancy contract expenditure 2023–24 Expenditure1 $
Design Craft 93,261
Technology One 92,191
Manuka News 63,858
Aurion Corporation 50,727
Expense8 Pty Ltd 45,961
Micro Focus 30,709
Acendre 28,136
Total 404,843