The Department of Health and Aged Care was the Government’s biggest spender on new consultancy contracts during the 2022-23 financial year, spending $56.9 million on 325 contracts. An additional 166 ongoing consultancy contracts were active during the period, costing $27 million.

Only four Government departments increased their spending during the financial year, including the Department of Health and Aged Care, as well as Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Attorney-General’s office and the office of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.

In October 2023, the Australian Public Service Commission (APSC) advised that the Australian Public Services (APSs) should “wind back excessive outsourcing”, and instead develop in-house skills and competencies.

The Department of Health and Aged Care told The SOURCE it “plans resourcing in alignment with the Australian Public Service Strategic Commissioning Framework”.

In August 2023, the Government released a 67-page Capability Review of the Department, which showed that it was ‘developing’ (has weaknesses and gaps in current capability) in 38 of the 50 categories, and was outsourcing work previously done in-house.

Last week, we reported that the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission’s target for audits conducted by contracted aged care assessors would fall to around 600 this financial year, compared with more than 1,000 audits in 2022-23.

Aged Care Quality and Safety Commissioner Janet Anderson PSM recently told Senate Estimates that some aged care audits conducted by contracted staff did not initially meet the regulator’s standards and had to be rewritten. 

The regulator is currently reviewing whether to continue using third-party assessors.

“Decisions about any arrangements with third-party providers beyond this financial year have not yet been made. Factors that may need to be taken into account include the volume of site visits required annually under the proposed new Aged Care Act and the new regulatory model it will introduce,” Ms Anderson told The SOURCE.