The Consultancy Rort

STATUS · Ongoing · unresolved KIND · RORTA$968.6mTotal federal consultancy contracts in 2024-25, up about 48 per cent on the prior year's A$653m and above the final…

07/2026Opened on fileThe crackdown that cost more

A public crackdown cut the Big Four's share, yet the total federal consultancy bill still climbed to a near-billion-dollar high. The money still leaves the public purse; only the name on the invoice changes.

Fig. 01 /The record6 exhibits

A$968.6mTotal federal consultancy contracts in 2024-25, up about 48 per cent on the prior year's A$653m and above the final Morrison year of A$787.6m.Greens analysis of AusTender data, August 2025 about A$800mThe fall in Big Four combined federal consulting spend since 2022, their share down from 11.0 per cent to 8.1 per cent.Canberra Times analysis of AusTender, October 2025 about A$1.7bnFederal revenue captured by mid-tier consultancies, more than quadrupled as the Big Four share fell.Canberra Times analysis of AusTender, October 2025 about 11xNous Group federal consulting, from A$2.7m in 2019 to about A$31m in 2024-25. McGrathNicol rose about sixfold, from A$1.9m to A$11.3m.Canberra Times analysis of AusTender, October 2025 52 firmsMid-tier and specialist firms that each won over A$10m in federal consulting work in the first half of 2025-26 (July to December 2025).Psithur / Awarded Tenders analysis of AusTender, FY26 38% / about A$29bnAverage pre-contract cost inflation across a taskforce sample of about a dozen major Defence projects, about A$29bn of estimate inflation before any…Canberra Times / AAP, July 2026

Fig. 01Source: case record · each fact carries the article that documented itAs of 2026‑07Auto-assembled

Fig. 02 / What happened

01The crackdown that cost moreE4

Fig. 02Source: case chain · every article in this case, in sequenceAs of 2026‑07Auto-assembled

Fig. 03 / Who the record names

The Revolving DoorMECHANISM · 1 Regulatory CaptureMECHANISM · 1 The Big FourMECHANISM · CONSULTANCY · 1 Nous GroupCOMPANY · CONSULTANCY · 1 McGrathNicolCOMPANY · CONSULTANCY · 1

Fig. 03Source: entity scan · names appearing across this caseAs of 2026‑07Auto-assembled

How we know

The exhibits sit beside the title above, each tied to the article that documented it. How evidence and sources are graded: evidence grade, source tiers.

Evidence strength · 5 sources across 1 article

Official 1
Masthead 3
Trade 1

What else is connected

Named in this case and in others. A count of where the record names them, not a finding about what they did.

The Revolving Door4 other rortsAustralia's Gas Heist Media Ownership The Roads Rort The Nature Rort

Regulatory Capture3 other rortsThe Gambling Rort Australia's Gas Heist The Nature Rort

The Big Four1 other rortThe Inflation Rort

From the desk

19 October 2026Correction
Correction published
The crackdown that cost more · The Consultancy Rort
The summary point at the head of this article, and the opening paragraph, said that after the PwC scandal the government pledged to cut the Big Four, and described a pledge to wean the Commonwealth off them. The sources THE RORT has do not record a pledge about the Big Four. The Greens release says Labor committed during its election campaign to cut A$6.4 billion in spending 'by reducing…
15 October 2026Correction
Correction published
The crackdown that cost more · The Consultancy Rort
The summary point at the top of this article said consultancy contracts in 2024-25 were 'up roughly 48 per cent' without naming the year it was measured against, and the reference described that as a figure the Greens release gives. The release does not state 48 per cent. It lists A$653 million for 2023-24 and A$968.6 million for 2024-25, and A$968.6 million is 48.3 per cent above A$653 million…

The desk record →