Government Outsourcing
Australian federal and state governments spend an estimated $20.8 billion per year on external vendors — consulting, IT services, managed operations, and outsourced delivery. That's approximately $1,224 per taxpayer per year. This money could fund permanent public service roles — building in-house capability instead of paying vendors who often subcontract the work offshore.
Federal spending on consulting alone hit $968.6 million in 2024-25 — 23% higher than the final year of the Morrison government ($787.6M). Total spend on contractors, labour hire, and consultants: $2.33 billion. Labor promised $6.4 billion in savings but spending has gone up, not down. External delivery costs approximately 3x more than building the same capability in-house.
Sources: Greens/Senator Pocock (Aug 2025), Consultancy UK, AusTender. AusTender values represent contract ceilings and panel maximums, not actual spend.
$1,224
Per Taxpayer / Year
$20.8B
Annual External Delivery
31
Departments Tracked
17
Vendors
IT Contract Blowouts
Original budget vs final reported cost for major government IT contracts.
Values in $M AUD. Sources: Senate Estimates, Auditor-General reports, public reporting.
| Department / Agency | Level | Vendors | Offshore | Top Vendors |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Department of Defence | federal | 9 | - | Leidos, Accenture, Serco +6 |
| Department of Health | federal | 9 | - | Amazon Web Services, McKinsey, Accenture +6 |
| Australian Digital Health Agency | federal | 8 | - | Accenture, Deloitte, PwC +5 |
| Australian Signals Directorate | federal | 8 | - | Scyne Advisory, Leidos, DXC Technology +5 |
| Australian Taxation Office | federal | 8 | - | Serco, Leidos, IBM +5 |
| Bureau of Meteorology | federal | 8 | - | Accenture, Deloitte, Leidos +5 |
| Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water | federal | 8 | - | McKinsey, Serco, DXC Technology +5 |
| Department of Employment and Workplace Relations | federal | 8 | - | Scyne Advisory, Deloitte, DXC Technology +5 |
| Department of Home Affairs | federal | 8 | - | Serco, IBM, EY +5 |
| Services Australia | federal | 8 | - | PwC, IBM, Serco +5 |
| Australian Federal Police | federal | 7 | - | McKinsey, Deloitte, DXC Technology +4 |
| Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade | federal | 7 | - | IBM, Accenture, Deloitte +4 |
| Department of Health and Aged Care | federal | 7 | - | Scyne Advisory, KPMG, Deloitte +4 |
| Department of Human Services | federal | 7 | - | DXC Technology, IBM, Serco +4 |
| Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts | federal | 7 | - | Accenture, Deloitte, Scyne Advisory +4 |
| Department of the Treasury | federal | 7 | - | McKinsey, IBM, PwC +4 |
| Department of Veterans' Affairs | federal | 7 | - | McKinsey, IBM, PwC +4 |
| Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry | federal | 6 | - | DXC Technology, Accenture, Deloitte +3 |
| Department of Education | federal | 6 | - | Deloitte, KPMG, Scyne Advisory +3 |
| Department of Finance | federal | 6 | - | DXC Technology, KPMG, Deloitte +3 |
| Federal Government (Overall) | federal | 4 | - | EY, Deloitte, KPMG +1 |
| Public Transport Victoria | state | 3 | - | NTT Data, HCL Technologies, NTT Data |
| Transport for NSW | state | 2 | - | Wipro, Datacom |
| Australian Bureau of Statistics | federal | 1 | - | IBM |
| myGov (Digital Transformation Agency) | federal | 1 | - | Accenture |
| NSW Government (ServiceFirst) | state | 1 | - | Infosys |
| Service NSW | state | 1 | 🇮🇳 India | Infosys |
| South Australian Government | state | 1 | - | DXC Technology |
| Sydney Trains | state | 1 | - | HCL Technologies |
| ASIC | federal | 0 | - | |
| WA Department of Education | state | 0 | - |
Government outsourcing data is compiled from AusTender, public reporting, and parliamentary records. Contract values from AusTender (2007-2025). Click a department name for full vendor details.