The Minns Labor Government has delivered more than $450 million in savings on external
consultants and individual contractors in its first full year in government.
The savings include a $72 million reduction in consultant spend across agencies, down from $130
million in 2022-23 to $58 million in 2023-24.
This follows a NSW Auditor-General’s report which found that the previous Liberal-National
Government spent more than $1 billion on external consultants without adequate procurement and
managements policies in place. Subsequent analysis also found that the previous government
issued more than 10,000 contracts in their last five years in office, averaging a new contract every
hour.
In addition, the Minns Labor Government is also delivering on its election commitment to reduce the
government’s spend on payments to contractors acting as de facto employees in the public service.
Known as contingent labour, this figure blew out under the previous government.
Controls put in place by the Minns Labor Government saw that figure drop from $2.1 billion in 2022-
23 to $1.7 billion in 2023-24, a 17 per cent reduction.
The Minns Labor Government continues to progress the establishment of a new unit within the
Premier’s Department to reduce the use of consultants by redirecting agencies to in-house
expertise to deliver better outcomes across the government.
Under the previous government, 15% of contracts for external consultants were for ‘generalist work’
which could be done in-house and includes work like policy design and evaluation.
A report released by the Government in May 2024 found that utilising the existing expertise within
the public service could save as much as 52% per contract. It also means that the public sector can
retain knowledge and talent, thereby improving the quality of future, similar projects.
The result highlights the progress being made by the Minns Labor Government to correct twelve
years of waste and mismanagement by the previous Liberal-National Government.
Quotes attributable to Acting Treasurer Courtney Houssos:
“This government is committed to paying consultants less and essential workers more.
“The growth in consultant spend under the previous government was out of control. We said we’d
end wasteful spending, and that’s what we’ve done.
“There is always more to be done, and the Minns Labor Government continues working to ensure
that every dollar of taxpayer money is being spent more efficiently.
“Delivering on these savings required a forensic approach to the state’s accounts and a culture shift
which prioritises harnessing the expertise and knowledge within the existing public service.
“Instead of wasting money, we’re bolstering the public service’s capacity and focusing their efforts
on what matters most to families and households in NSW.
“Given the scale of the problem we inherited, there is still much work to do.”