(1)  

(a)   Since November 2007, what is the total number of:

(i)   completed, and (ii) ongoing, consultancies in the portfolio/agency; and

(b)   for each consultancy:

(i)   who is the consultant, (ii) what is the subject matter, (iii) what are the terms of reference, (iv) what is its duration, (v) what will it cost, and (vi) what is the method of procurement (i.e. open tender, direct source, etc.).

(2)   Can copies be provided of all the completed consultancies.

(3)  

(a)   How many consultancies are planned or budgeted for:

(i)   2009, and (ii) 2010;

(b)   Have these been published in the Annual Procurement Plan on the AusTender website; if not, why not; and

(c)   in each case, what is the: (i) subject matter, (ii) duration, (iii) cost, (iv) method of procurement, and (v) name of the consultant if known.

(1) (a)   Since November 2007, there has been a total of:

(i)   802 completed, and

(ii)   116 ongoing,         consultancies in the Department of Health and Ageing, including the Therapeutic Goods Administration, National Industrial Chemicals Notification and Assessment Scheme, and the Office of Gene Technology Regulator.

(b)   Each of the 918 consultancies have been identified in Attachment A, including the:

(i)   consultant, (ii) subject matter, (iii) status of complete/current, (iv) duration, (v) cost, and (vi) method of procurement (i.e. open tender, direct source, etc.).

• Section 40(1)(a) of the FOI Act: Prejudice the effectiveness of procedures or methods for the conduct of tests, examinations or audits;
• Section 41(1) of the FOI Act: Documents containing personal information; and
• Section 43(1)(c)(i) of the FOI Act: Documents containing information that could adversely affect business if disclosed.

(2)   Details of consultancy details over the value of $10,000 can be obtained from the AusTender website.

(3)  

(a)   The Department’s Annual Procurement Plan (APP) covers financial years and as at 1 July 2009, the Department had 57 consultancies planned or budgeted for the 2009-10 financial year.  The Department published the 2009-10 APP prior to the beginning of the new financial year.  The Department’s 2009-10 APP is published on the AusTender website. Please note that the forecast consultancies in the APP are updated each quarter.

(b)   Not all planned consultancies published in the APP have been undertaken.  All executed consultancies registered in the Department’s contract register (except those excluded due to FOI exemptions) have been published on the AusTender website.

(c)   The consultancy information for the period 1 July 2009 to 30 June 2010 has been provided in Attachment B, including the:

(i)   subject matter, (ii) duration, (iii) cost, (iv) procurement method, and (v) consultant name (if known).

Please note that Attachments A and B are available from the Senate Table Office.