David Johnston (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Defence) | Link to this | Hansard source

asked the Minister representing the Minister for Defence, upon notice, on 23 August 2012:

(1) Given that there are 356 senior officers within the department, why was it necessary to spend $61 million on consultants in the 2011-12 financial year?

(2) Who determines, on a case by case basis, the specific need to engage consultants, and who signs off on the engagements?

Bob Carr (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) | Link to this | Hansard source

The Minister for Defence has provided the following answer to the honourable senator's question:

(1) The Department of Defence engages consultants where it lacks specialist expertise or when independent research, review or assessment is required. Consultants are typically engaged to:

(2)    Prior to engaging consultants, the Department takes into account the skills and resources required for the task, the skills available internally, and the cost-effectiveness of engaging external expertise. The decision to engage a consultant is made by Defence delegates on a case by case basis in accordance with the Financial Management Accountability Act 1997 and related regulations including the Commonwealth Procurement Guidelines.