Government extends consulting contracts rather than seeking new firms
Government agencies doubled spending on extending existing contracts to $207 million while new contract spending dropped $113 million.
Australian government agencies are quietly keeping consulting firms on contract longer rather than shopping around for new advisers. Contract amendments, extensions and additions to existing deals more than doubled to $207 million in 2025-26 from $99 million the year before.
New non-Defence consulting contracts fell by about $113 million. Mid-tier and boutique firms captured 96 per cent of the work.
Nous Group remained the clear winner, pulling in $84.5 million over three years. Scyne Advisory secured nearly $50 million.
McGrathNicol won about $35.1 million. Former finance official Stephen Bartos warned this simply rearranges who gets paid.
It does not fix ability gaps. He said the Big Four are just sitting, waiting, and trying to get back in.
Extending contracts remains a major budget weakness, he added.
- $207 million
- Contract extensions 2025-26
- $113 million
- New contracts dropped
- $99 million
- Extensions previous year
- $84.5 million over 3 years
- Nous Group total
Why it mattersDeeper reliance on contract extensions locks money into ongoing consulting spend. This reduces government control and shifts decisions away from elected officials.
AustraliaAustralian taxpayers fund government consulting contracts. More extensions mean less room in budgets for new services or other priorities.
✓ Claims checked against the source and corrected before publish. checked 2 h ago
