Services Australia handed Accenture a no-bid IT contract to modernise its systems. Budget: $112 million. Final bill: $187.5 million. A $75 million blowout — 67% over what was approved. Limited tender meant Azure, Google Cloud, and every other competitor were locked out before the first dollar was spent.
$75.5M of Australian taxpayer money was wasted at Services Australia. Services Australia handed Accenture a no-bid IT contract to modernise its systems. Budget: $112 million. Final bill: $187.5 million. A $75 million blowout — 67% over what was approved. Limited tender meant Azure, Google Cloud, and every other competitor were locked out before the first dollar was spent.
Spread across Australia's 10.8 million households, that's roughly $7 per family — enough in total for covering the university fees of 2,517 students.
Services Australia engaged Accenture for a comprehensive ICT infrastructure modernisation program through limited tender. The contract covers cloud migration, security uplift, and network modernisation. The value grew from an original $112 million to $187.5 million — a 67% increase that suggests either the original scope was underestimated or that scope creep was not adequately managed. The limited tender procurement method means no other supplier had the opportunity to compete on price or capability.
Force competitive retendering of Services Australia ICT work and mandate proper scope management.
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