Labor has consistently refused to separate the amount spent on consultants from the overall spend on external contractors so it's impossible to tell what proportion of the savings are being spent on consultants. The Greens are calling for a commitment from Labor to reduce spending on consultants across all departments and agencies by a minimum of 15% each year for 5 years.
As stated by Greens Finance & Public Service spokesperson, Sen. Barbara Pocock:
"This tactic of hiding the actual amount being spent on consultants means that we have no way of knowing whether the government is actually spending less on consultants or not. In fact, it could be the case that the government is on track to spend the same amount on consultants as they did last year. We need a more transparent breakdown of the spending data before we can have confidence in Labor's claims.
"We know that outsourcing public service work to the private sector costs three-times as much as hiring public servants to do the work, so reducing the spend on consultants and other contractors is a no brainer.
"What we are seeing is Labor fiddling at the edges. They say they want to eliminate wasteful outsourcing but there is no firm commitment to the kind of long-term reduction needed to bring down Scott Morrison's record breaking spend of $20.8 billion on private contracting.
"The Australian Greens have recommended a 15% reduction in spending on consultants every year over five years. Labor is yet to respond.
"Consecutive federal governments have eroded the capability of the public service, primarily through outsourcing work to the private sector. APS numbers fell by 7.5% during the nine years of Coalition government undermining the capacity of a workforce responsible for delivering critical services in the public interest.
"Labor has committed to reducing its outsourcing of public service work to the Big Four consulting firms and we did see a 70% decline in spending since Labor came to power. However, total spending on consulting contracts is still high - almost $400 million in 2024-25 and we haven't even made it to the end of the financial year yet. In fact, spending increased under Labor by 9.3% in 2023-24 compared to the previous year.
"While Labor has made some significant reductions in spending on labour hire and other external contractors, there is no firm commitment to achieving lasting reform in this area over the long term. Despite our recommendations, Finance Minister Katy Gallagher refuses to impose spending caps for consultants on each department and agency or to set targets for ongoing reductions. This begs the question, how will long term reductions be achieved?
