MPs would vet consultancy deals over $2 million
The federal government spent about $3.27 billion on outside advisers in one year. Richard Colbeck, a Liberal senator, wants a group of MPs and senators to check big advice deals before they are signed.
Official name: Parliamentary Joint Committee on Public Consultancy and Services Contracts Bill 2025
- A new group of four MPs and four senators would check government contracts for outside advice.
- Contracts worth more than $2 million could not be signed until the group said yes.
- Either house of Parliament could then block a contract within 5 sitting days, which are days Parliament meets.
- In an urgent case a minister could skip the check. The group's chair and deputy chair would both have to agree.
- It is a bill from a single senator. It is still before the Senate.
Who it affects
- Taxpayers: Big spending on outside advisers would get the same kind of check that big building projects get.
- Advice firms: Government contracts over $2 million would have to wait for the group to say yes before they are signed.
- Government departments and agencies: They would need to explain why they are hiring outside advisers and what the work is for.
- Members of Parliament: Eight of them would sit on the new group and report to both houses.
$3.27 billion spent on consultants
The federal government often pays outside firms for advice. These deals are called consultancy contracts. In the 2022 to 2023 money year, it spent about $3.272 billion on advice about how to run things. That was 4.37% of everything it bought.
Big building projects already get checked by a group of MPs and senators called the Public Works Committee. In 2023 that group checked $3.7 billion of projects. Advice spending of a similar size gets no such check.
A group of senators looked into the use of outside advisers. It suggested a new joint committee of Parliament to check these contracts. Senator Richard Colbeck brought this bill to do that. He says it would make things more open. He says it would make sure public money is well spent.
What counts as consulting
The bill uses a wide meaning. A public consultancy contract is a deal to give services to the federal government that need expert skills. The work also produces ideas or advice to help the government make decisions.
Say a department pays a big advice firm to write a plan for a new computer system. That would count.
Who sits on the committee
At the start of each Parliament, a new joint committee would be set up. A joint committee has members from both houses.
It would have eight members. Four would come from the House of Representatives, Parliament's main house, and four from the Senate. Ministers could not join. Nor could the Speaker and the Senate President, who run the two houses, and some other office holders.
The chair would come from the government. The deputy chair would come from the main party not in government. The bill fixes this because those two people would have a say over urgent contracts. Both houses together would decide how the group runs.
What the committee does
Either house of Parliament, or the minister in charge, could send a contract to the group. The group would report back to both houses as fast as it can.
When it looks at a contract, the minister would have to give it a statement. The group would look at what the contract is for and how long it will run. It would look at which agency is hiring. It would look at why outside advisers are needed.
The group could also look into wider problems with these contracts if a house or the minister asked. Some contracts might not be dealt with by the end of one Parliament. They could be sent to the group again in the next.
Deals over $2 million
A contract worth more than $2 million could not be signed until the group said yes in a report. After that, the government would wait 5 sitting days. If either house voted no during that time, the contract could not go ahead.
If both houses voted yes, the contract could be signed sooner.
Both houses could also vote to let a contract skip the check. The minister would then have to give Parliament a statement with reasons.
Urgent deals and second looks
A minister could declare in writing that a contract must be signed urgently. It could then skip the group. First the minister would have to tell the group. Both the chair and the deputy chair would have to agree in writing. The minister would also give Parliament a statement of reasons.
Both houses together could send a contract back to the group for a second look. If it had not been signed yet, it would have to wait for the new report.
The Governor-General could make detailed rules to help the law work. The Governor-General stands in for the King.
Waiting in the Senate
If passed, the law would start on the day it was signed into law.
Senator Colbeck brought the bill to the Senate on 30 July 2025. He gave his opening speech the same day. It came from him alone, so the government did not bring it in. It is still before the Senate. It would need to pass the Senate and then the House of Representatives.
Its journey through Parliament
| 30 Jul 2025 | Senate: Introduced and read a first time |
| 30 Jul 2025 | Senate: Second reading moved |