Appendix D – Engagement of external consultants
The Department engages external consultants to support departmental activities where:
- specialised expertise is not available in-house; or
- an independent assessment or evaluation is required.
Before engaging external consultants, the Department determines whether:
- the proposed assignment is feasible and essential to the efficient and effective operation of the Department; and
- use of the consultant will be cost-effective.
Once a need for external consultants is established, the Department ensures that the selection process:
- observes government and departmental procurement policies;
- is publicly defensible, promoting fair competition and effective service;
- is based on pre-determined selection criteria; and
- satisfies best value for money.
Market testing occurs through public invitation or approaching a sufficiently representative number of potential consultants.
Consultancies with values of $10 000 or more let by DVA during 2005-06 are listed below together with their agreed contract price. During 2005-06, DVA spent $5.1 million on 98 consultancies. The total amount spent includes those listed as well as expenditure on consultancies let in previous years and continuing during 2005-06. Details of these consultancies were published in previous annual reports.
| Consultant name | Description | Contract Price | Selection process (1) | Justification (2) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acumen Alliance (ACT) Pty Ltd | IMU Consultancy for Financial Services for ICT Sourcing 2007 Project Work Order 4/2005 (05/06-IMU03) | 209 790 | Open tender | Expert |
| Acumen Alliance (ACT) Pty Ltd | IMU Consultancy Services as the Probity Adviser for the ICT Outsourcing Project (05/06-IMU01) | 31 416 | Open tender | External |
| Ascent Governance Pty Ltd | Financial analysis | 18 168 | Open tender | Expert |
| Australian Government Solicitor | Legal process advice in relation to the Gallipoli Event Provider Tender | 50 000 | Direct source | External |
| Australian Institute of Health and Welfare | Addendum to Schedule 5: Female Vietnam Veteran Health Register | 74 039 | Direct source | Expert |
| Australian Institute of Health and Welfare | Health Research – Mortality and Cancer Incidence Monitoring in F-111 Deseal/Reseal Personnel | 24 618 | Direct source | Expert |
| Australian Institute of Health and Welfare | Research Project: Residential Aged Care Projections | 158 587 | Direct source | Expert |
| Australian Institute of Health and Welfare | Research Project: Veterans in Residential Aged Care Services (Phase 2): Analysing the linked data | 164 162 | Direct source | Expert |
| Blake Dawson Waldron Lawyers | IMU Consultancy Services Legal Services – Assistance with Procurement (05/06-IMU02) |
418 000 | Open tender | Expert and External |
| CSC Australia Pty Limited | Technical Review of the Departmental Management Information system (DMIS) | 63 101 | Direct source | Expert and External |
| Damian Paul Leonard trading as Integral Event Management | Provision of production management services for the event 13-15 August 2005 | 45 734 | Direct source | Expert |
| Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu | Independent Review of Payments for In-Home Respite Services | 77 000 | Select tender | External |
| Dimension Data Australia P/L | Consultancy Services for Veterans Service Centre | 62 700 | Select tender | |
| Econtech Pty Ltd | Investigate DVA's veteran claim and review models; validating approach taken (with possible improvements) or recommending alternatives | 17 215 | Select tender | Expert and External |
| Econtech Pty Ltd | To provide advice on existing models used to project workload indicators for DVA | 53 350 | Direct source | Previous |
| Enterprise Outsourcing (ACT) Pty Ltd | Probity Adviser for procurement process | 12 000 | Select from panel | External |
| Ernst & Young | Investment management advice | 16 192 | Open tender | Expert |
| Finity Consulting Pty Limited | Actuary Services | 60 000 | Select tender | Expert |
| International Conservation Services Pty Ltd | Investigation of causes of staining on ulam marble headstones at Bomana War Cemetery, PNG | 13 013 | Direct source | Expert |
| IT Newcom Pty Ltd | IMU Consultancy Services Benchmarking of ICT Outsourcing Project (05/06-IMU09) |
148 500 | Open tender | Expert and External |
| LVO Architecture Pty Ltd | Design & contract administration for extension of the Queensland Garden of Remembrance Brisbane | 12 100 | Open tender | Expert |
| Med-E-Serv Pty Ltd | Report and advise on the production of LMO Notes on the web | 16 170 | Direct source | Expert |
| ODS Management Consulting Pty Ltd | Consultancy Services – Change Management | 34 360 | Select from panel | Expert |
| Orima Research Pty Ltd | Market testing research | 27 690 | Direct source | Expert |
| Peoplebank Australia Pty Ltd (formerly iGATE Australia P/L) | Project management services relating to the development of the governments budget initiative aimed at preventing the unnecessary use of Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme subsidised medicines | 60 000 | Direct source | Expert |
| Perocin Pty Ltd (t/a Lange Consulting & Software) | IMU Consultancy Services 04/05-IMU17 – tender advice | 17 050 | Open tender | Expert and External |
| Perocin Pty Ltd (t/a Lange Consulting & Software) | IMU Consulting Services for Staff Training and Support the use of Apet Software (05/06-IMU06) |
33 880 | Open tender | Expert and External |
| PricewaterhouseCoopers | Accounting services in relation to preparation of the 2004-05 DSHIS Financial Statements. | 30 000 | Open tender | Expert |
| Project Perfect Pty Ltd | IMU Consultancy - Business Analysis Services - Rapid Delivery Methodology (05/06-IMU04) | 17 500 | Select tender | Expert |
| PSI Consulting Pty Ltd | Tender Support Services | 24 640 | Open tender | External |
| PWA Australia Pty Ltd | NSW SO Lease Negotiation Advisory Fees | 88 374 | Select tender | Expert |
| Roar Film Pty Ltd | Development and design of the Department's 2006 education resource | 99 055 | Open tender | Expert |
| Taylor Fry Pty Ltd | Actuarial Services | 39 600 | Direct source | Expert |
| The University of Queensland | Research for Investigation of Remote Access to Specialist Geriatric Expertise Using E-Health Strategies | 101 490 | Direct source | Expert |
| The University of Queensland | Research on Veteran Needs and e-Health Technologies | 98 400 | Direct source | Expert |
| The University Of Sydney Dept Of Revenue | Research Project: research into antipsychotic medication dispensing and mortality rates in older veterans, 2003-04 | 21 500 | Direct source | Expert |
| Tract (WA) Pty Ltd | Design and Contract administration for the extension of WA Garden of Remembrance | 11 240 | Select tender | Expert |
| Young & Rubicam Melbourne P/L | Production of Community Service Announcements | 158 480 | Direct source | Expert |
| Total | 2 609 114 |
(1) Explanation of selection process terms (drawn from the Commonwealth Procurement Guidelines January 2005):
Open tender: A procurement procedure in which a request for tender is published inviting all businesses that satisfy the conditions for participation to submit tenders.
Select tender: A procurement procedure in which the procuring agency selects which potential suppliers are invited to submit tenders in accordance with the mandatory procurement procedures.
Direct sourcing: A procurement process, available only under certain defined circumstances, in which an agency may contact a single potential supplier or suppliers of its choice and for which conditions for direct sourcing apply under the mandatory procurement procedures.
Panel: An arrangement under which a number of suppliers, usually selected through a single procurement process, may each supply property or services to an agency as specified in the panel arrangements.
(2) Justification for decision to use consultancy:
Expert: an expert in this field and skills currently unavailable within agency
Previous: continuance of previous related consultancy
External: need for independent research or assessment
Appendix A: