Extra $332M for aged care technology overhaul
The Department of Health, Disability and Ageing has extended its contract with global consultants Accenture to build aged care's cornerstone digital platform.
The contract value has increased by $332 million to nearly $592 million, according to an amendment published in December 2025.
Under the contract, Accenture is paid to design, build, test and warranty the new Government Provider Management System (GPMS).
The GPMS is the cornerstone of the Government's $1.4 billion effort to rebuild Australia's aged care technology infrastructure, and flows from recommendations of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety.
The purpose of the GPMS is to create integrated digital platforms connecting providers, regulators and consumers through new compliance, funding and care management systems. It is based on Salesforce software.
However, the rollout of Government technology associated with the aged care reforms has been plagued with problems. The Senate Inquiry into Aged Care Service Delivery heard providers had "grave concerns" about the Government's Information and Communication Technology (ICT) system readiness ahead of the reform rollout on 1 November 2025, and there was inadequate time for system testing. The four-month delay of the reform rollout was also attributed to Government systems not being ready.
The Saturday Paper reported a Canberra IT consultant said, "Aged care reform is an absolute shitshow and a big chunk of it is just this unremitting public service love affair with multinational consultancies bleeding out every IT project they touch. And why wouldn’t they? Because that is the whole imperative of these firms."
The use of global consultants has been under scrutiny since PwC misused Australian Government tax information to benefit its corporate clients.
In October 2025, Aged Care Minister Sam Rae refused Senate orders to release key documentation relating to the aged care technology spending.
The Department did not respond to The Weekly SOURCE'S questions by deadline.
