ADHA readies market test of Accenture's $788m My Health Record deal

The Australian Digital Health Agency (ADHA) is moving closer to opening its $788 million digital infrastructure arrangement to competitive tender within weeks, the first time since awarding it to Accenture over a decade ago.

Since 2012, Accenture has held the role of National Infrastructure Operator (NIO), managing key platforms including My Health Record.

The original contract has been extended twice, with subsequent agreements signed in 2019 and 2022, both via limited tender without open market competition.

The most recent three-year contract, now valued at $141 million, officially expired on June 30, 2025.

ADHA told iTnews that there "will be a transition contract to maintain the safe, reliable operation and maintenance of My Health Record".

"As we progress this work and other key initiatives, we are assessing our operating model to determine how best to deliver products and services, and the capabilities we will need, going forward," the spokesperson added.

An audit last year revealed the agency had claimed $1.04 million in service credits from Accenture since January 2018, and had been engaged in a three-and-a-half-year dispute over missing system architecture documentation for My Health Record.

In November, the agency signalled a shift away from its single-provider model, stating in a request for information that the “optimal operating model... will be the most effective mix of in-house design and delivery capability combined with outsourced approaches.”

Shift in direction

The upcoming tender coincides with the release of Health Connect Australia [pdf], ADHA’s new five-year strategy to overhaul national digital health infrastructure and improve interoperability.

The roadmap builds on My Health Record but introduces a modular, service-based architecture, outlining a federated model for interconnected systems, common technology patterns to support different policy and legislative contexts, and a structured delivery approach.

ADHA also proposes a platform-as-a-service model, where new health apps and services are deployed on top of shared national platforms.

The initiative, rolled out in several phases, will prioritise the adoption of open standards and reusable digital services.

ADHA said it intends to provide all health system stakeholders with a set of reusable architectural patterns and principles that can be used to “drive their own investments.

These patterns and principles will be released as architecture artefacts, implementation guides, technical specifications and conformance requirements, the agency added.

In a statement, agency chief digital officer Peter O’Halloran said: “With evolving technology and an ever-changing healthcare system, new and updated digital health standards are essential to enable health information to be accurately generated, shared and interpreted across systems using consistent data and terminology frameworks.

“Efforts are also underway to develop robust legislative and policy settings to support the seamless exchange of health information across jurisdictions.”