Parliamentary Joint Committee on Public Consultancy and Services Contracts Bill 2025: new oversight for billion-dollar government consultancy spending

The short answer

Parliamentary Joint Committee on Public Consultancy and Services Contracts Bill 2025: new oversight for billion-dollar government consultancy spending

The Parliamentary Joint Committee on Public Consultancy and Services Contracts Bill 2025 is a private senator's bill introduced by Senator Richard Colbeck (Liberal, Tasmania) on 30 July 2025. The bill proposes establishing a joint standing committee of eight members — four from the House of Representatives and four from the Senate — to review, consider, and report on consultancy and services contracts entered into by Commonwealth entities. Contracts exceeding $2 million in value would be subject to mandatory referral. The bill has been referred to the Senate Finance and Public Administration Legislation Committee, which reported on 2 April 2026. The bill remains before the Senate at the second-reading stage.

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Evidence review

What the bill proposes

The bill has three parts. Part 1 (preliminary) defines key terms including 'public consultancy contract' and 'services contract'. Part 2 establishes the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Public Consultancy and Services Contracts as a joint standing committee of eight members. The Chair would be a government member and the Deputy Chair a non-government member, consistent with the standard model for parliamentary joint committees.

The committee's functions would include reviewing consultancy and services contracts referred to it by either House of Parliament or by the responsible minister, and reporting its findings to both Houses. Crucially, the bill creates a mechanism where contracts above $2 million must be referred to the committee, and in certain circumstances a public consultancy contract may not be executed until the committee has completed its consideration. The committee may also reconsider contracts where circumstances change. Part 3 contains standard miscellaneous provisions permitting the making of regulations.

Evidence review

The spending context

The explanatory memorandum cites Australian Government spending of approximately $3.272 billion on management advisory contracts in the 2022-23 financial year — 4.37 per cent of total Commonwealth procurement outlays. For comparison, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Works reviewed $3.7 billion in projects in 2023. The EM argues that 'the absence of equivalent scrutiny for consultancy and services contracts presents a gap in oversight which this Bill seeks to address'.

The PwC tax leaks scandal of 2023 and subsequent revelations about consultancy firm conduct across multiple government departments have sharpened parliamentary and public focus on consultancy expenditure. Several parliamentary inquiries — including the Senate inquiry into consulting services — have examined the scale and governance of Commonwealth consultancy contracts. Senator Colbeck's bill represents one legislative response to these concerns.

Evidence review

Status and committee scrutiny

The bill was introduced in the Senate on 30 July 2025 and the second reading was moved the same day. On 28 August 2025 the Senate referred the bill to the Finance and Public Administration Legislation Committee for inquiry and report. The committee reported on 2 April 2026. As of July 2026 the bill remains before the Senate, with the committee's report available but no further parliamentary action recorded on the progress page.

Committee scrutiny is a standard step for private senators' bills with significant implications, allowing stakeholders to make submissions and the committee to assess the bill's workability, constitutional validity, and interaction with existing accountability mechanisms.

Evidence review

How the committee would operate

The proposed committee would function similarly to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Works, which has long-reviewed Commonwealth public works projects above a designated threshold. The consultancy committee would be a joint standing committee, meaning it would continue across parliaments. Its eight members would be appointed by the respective Houses, with the Chair drawn from the government. The quorum would be four members.

The bill gives the committee the standard powers of a parliamentary committee — to send for persons and documents, to move from place to place, and to conduct hearings. A distinctive feature is the power to prevent execution of a contract pending committee review, which would be a substantive check on executive spending authority not currently available for consultancy contracts.

Evidence review

Interaction with existing oversight

The Australian National Audit Office already audits Commonwealth procurement and has issued multiple performance audit reports critical of consultancy contract management. The Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit and various Senate estimates processes also scrutinise consultancy expenditure. The proposed committee would add a dedicated, standing parliamentary mechanism focused exclusively on consultancy and services contracts — a function not currently performed by any existing committee. The bill does not propose changes to the Auditor-General's powers or to existing procurement rules under the Commonwealth Procurement Rules.

Evidence review

Remaining steps

The committee report is now available. The next step is for the Senate to resume the second-reading debate, during which senators may consider the committee's recommendations. If the bill passes the second reading, it would proceed to committee-of-the-whole for detailed consideration and possible amendments, followed by a third reading. It would then need to pass the House of Representatives and receive royal assent. As a private senator's bill, its passage depends on securing cross-bench and government support in both chambers.

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