DTA's ICT procurement scrutinised

An audit of the Digital Transformation Agency's (DTA) procurement framework has found the agency's procurement of ICT-related services to be ineffective — in the nine specific procurements examined by the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO).

This audit was conducted to provide: increased transparency over the DTA’s procurement framework; assurance that the DTA’s procurement of ICT-related services is being conducted effectively; and assurance that the DTA is effectively managing contracts to deliver on intended objectives and achieve value for money.

The ANAO examined nine DTA procurements with published start dates in 2019–20 and 2020–21, with a combined reported value of $54.5 million. Of these: one was an open tender; seven were panel procurements (including four where the DTA approached one supplier off the panel); and one was a limited tender.

ANAO declared that implementation and oversight of the DTA’s established procurement framework has been weak. It found that the procurements examined were not conducted effectively and “fell short of ethical requirements”. ANAO found that contracts relating to those same procurements were not managed effectively by the DTA.

DTA expenses for procuring goods and services from suppliers in 2019–20 and 2020–21 totalled $122.8m. Four of the agency’s five highest procurements across the same two time periods were found to have involved an approach to only one supplier.

ANAO made eight recommendations to the DTA aimed at improving its compliance with the Commonwealth Procurement Rules (CPR) and ensuring that officials have a sufficient understanding of procurement requirements. It additionally made one recommendation to the Australian Government aimed at improving transparency on the reporting of panel procurements by Australian Government Entities.

The complete findings are available here.

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