Defence Materiel, the Department of Health and Ageing, Customs and Climate Change spent the greatest proportion of contracts directly with IT suppliers without going to open tender, iTnews can reveal.
Following up iTnews analysis’ of IT and Telecommunications expenditure during the ALP Government, today we offer an insight into procurement decisions by agency.
Whilst mandatory guidelines promote the use of open tenders or selection panels for individual contracts over $80,000, in practice there appears to be extensive use of approved exemptions that result in almost four out of ten IT contracts being undertaken through direct selection.
In 2010, some 37 percent of all Government contracts over $80,000 for information technology, broadcasting and telecommunications were determined by direct selection as opposed to open tender or by panel.
The top spender on direct IT procurement was the Defence Materiel Organisation – project manager for the Australian Defence Force. The DMO went direct for $257 million (34 percent) of the $763 million spent on contracts during the calendar, according to our analysis of all AusTender-listed contracts.
Of the top 25 agencies by expenditure, Climate Change & Energy Efficiency (100 percent of contract spend), Medicare Australia (90 percent), Customs and Border protection (85 percent), Health and Ageing (84 percent) spent over three-quarters of their total IT and telecommunications contracts using direct selection.
Direct contract spend of IT, Broadcasting and telecommunications amongst FMA agencies, 2010
| Agency | Total Procurement (AU$) |
Direct Procurement |
Percentage of contract spend direct |
| DEFENCE MATERIEL | 763,227,493 | 257,604,633 | 34% |
| DEFENCE | 656,032,631 | 236,423,592 | 36% |
| AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE | 148,509,916 | 9,931,860 | 7% |
| CENTRELINK | 125,090,041 | 62,214,320 | 50% |
| MEDICARE AUSTRALIA | 85,274,945 | 76,596,103 | 90% |
| DEPT OF FINANCE | 71,993,893 | 939,106 | 1% |
| HUMAN SERVICES | 62,240,206 | 39,474,335 | 63% |
| BUREAU OF METEOROLOGY | 27,758,530 | 4,637,492 | 17% |
| PARLIAMENTARY SERVICES | 22,542,657 | 3,860,157 | 17% |
| CLIMATE CHANGE & ENERGY EFFICIENCY | 22,241,193 | 22,241,193 | 100% |
| DBCDE (BROADBAND AND DIGITAL ECONOMY) | 21,266,725 | 1,781,946 | 8% |
| CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION | 20,338,563 | 17,282,806 | 85% |
| ATTORNEY-GENERAL'S DEPARTMENT | 19,271,120 | 10,623,219 | 55% |
| DEPT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS | 18,578,255 | 15,515,723 | 84% |
| DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE (DFAT) |
18,287,711 | 4,048,768 | 22% |
| AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS | 16,376,360 | 2,940,191 | 18% |
| DOHA - DEPT OF HEALTH AND AGEING | 15,821,352 | 13,243,917 | 84% |
| DEEWR | 15,560,509 | 9,813,163 | 63% |
| GEOSCIENCE AUSTRALIA | 11,847,891 | 2,091,299 | 18% |
| IMMIGRATION & CITIZENSHIP | 11,528,480 | 4,221,523 | 37% |
| INDUSTRY SCIENCE & RESEARCH | 10,824,045 | 8,110,327 | 75% |
| FHCSIA (FAMILIES, HOUSING, COMMUNITY & INDIGENOUS AFFAIRS) |
10,725,991 | 4,946,053 | 46% |
| OFFICE OF FAIR WORK OMBUDSMAN | 10,361,335 | 9,474,300 | 91% |
| CRIMTRAC | 9,929,021 | 485,544 | 5% |
| AUSAID | 8,050,516 | 4,265,737 | 53% |
| DEPT OF TREASURY | 6,879,368 | 4,215,545 | 61% |
| COMSUPER | 6,323,429 | 0 | 0% |
| ASIC |
3,875,969 | 1,226,852 | 32% |
| ACMA | 3,623,501 | 1,208,547 | 33% |
| DAFF - AGRICULTURE, FISH AND FORESTRY |
3,060,239 | 180,690 | 6% |
| IP AUSTRALIA | 2,941,481 | 490,004 | 17% |
| PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET |
2,688,657 | 0 | 0% |
| OFFICE OF DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS | 2,500,000 | 0 | 0% |
| RESOURCES ENERGY & TOURISM | 2,251,972 | 2,170,187 | 96% |
| AUSTRALIAN FAMILY COURT | 1,818,808 | 1,126,136 | 62% |
| AUSTRALIAN ELECTORAL COMMISSION | 1,124,899 | 0 | 0% |
| AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTAL AUTHORITY | 1,123,063 | 1,123,063 | 100% |
| FEDERAL COURT | 1,119,361 | 562,918 | 50% |
| AUSTRALIAN CRIME COMMISSION | 1,102,941 | 944,810 | 86% |
| AUSTRAC | 982,222 | 0 | 0% |
| HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES | 836,963 | 539,963 | 65% |
| NATIONAL ARCHIVES | 812,617 | 87,200 | 11% |
| ANAO - AUDIT OFFICE | 784,430 | 784,430 | 100% |
| NATIVE TITLE TRIBUNAL | 730,000 | 0 | 0% |
| DEPT OF INFRASTRUCTURE AND TRANSPORT | 673,000 | 0 | 0% |
| INSOLVENCY TRUSTEE | 618,632 | 0 | 0% |
| AUSTRALIAN RESEARCH COUNCIL | 610,898 | 263,120 | 43% |
| FAIR WORK AUSTRALIA | 515,641 | 0 | 0% |
| RADIATION PROTECTION & NUCLEAR SAFETY | 504,706 | 225,086 | 45% |
| ORGAN TRANSPLANT AUTHORITY | 384,898 | 384,898 | 100% |
| COMMONWEALTH OMBUDSMAN | 312,651 | 0 | 0% |
| BARRIER REEF MARINE PARK | 275,000 | 275,000 | 100% |
| MAGISTRATES COURT | 259,941 | 0 | 0% |
| SENATE | 250,000 | 0 | 0% |
| FUTURE FUND | 247,300 | 247,300 | 100% |
| PROFESSIONAL SERVICES REVIEW | 211,050 | 0 | 0% |
| SUSTAINABILITY, ENVIRONMENT, WATER AND POPULATION |
198,000 | 198,000 | 100% |
| FISHERIES MANAGEMENT AUTHORITY | 137,500 | 137,500 | 100% |
| AUSTRALIAN COMMISSION FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT INTEGRITY | 124,362 | 124,362 | 100% |
| NATIONAL WATER COMMISSION | 105,464 | 105,464 | 100% |
| MIGRATION REVIEW TRIBUNAL | 99,810 | 99,810 | 100% |
| NATIONAL BLOOD AUTHORITY | 92,380 | 92,380 | 100% |
| SAFE WORK AUSTRALIA | 91,520 | 91,520 | 100% |
| ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS TRIBUNAL | 91,300 | 91,300 | 100% |
| AUSTRALIAN PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION | 89,782 | 0 | 0% |
| TOTAL | 2,254,153,131 | 839,763,390 | 47% |
Direct contract spend of IT, Broadcasting and telecommunications amongst FMA agencies, 2010
.png&w=120&c=1&s=0)
EDUtech AU
Integrate Expo 2025
.png&w=120&c=1&s=0)
Security Exhibition & Conference 2025
Digital As Usual Cybersecurity Roadshow: Brisbane edition
iTnews Benchmark Security Awards 2025
.jpg&h=140&w=231&c=1&s=0)
.jpg&h=140&w=231&c=1&s=0)
