Entity
Department of Social Services
+$7.6bn (+4.8%) on 2025-26 estimated actual
Kind of expense
Traced to named suppliers and grant recipients
$2.0bn falls in 2026-27, equal to 1.2% of this total: $1.5bn in contracts and $576m in grants. estimate: annualised
From AusTender contract notices and GrantConnect grant awards published since 2022-07-01. Each contract’s or grant’s value is spread evenly from its start to end date. These values are commitments, not payments, and records published before 2022-07-01 are not included yet.
By program
| Program | 2025-26 estimated actual |
2026-27 Budget estimate |
Change | Share | Removed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Program 1.3 – Support for SeniorsTo assist eligible senior Australians financially and to encourage them to use their financial resources to support thei… | $65.3bn | $68.7bn | +$3.4bn +5.2% | 41.5% | – |
| Program 1.4 – Financial Support for People with Disability | $24.8bn | $26.3bn | +$1.4bn +5.8% | 15.9% | – |
| Program 1.6 – Working Age PaymentsTo provide financial assistance to people while they are unable to fully support themselves through work. | $26.1bn | $27.1bn | +$1.0bn +4.0% | 16.4% | – |
| Program 1.5 – Financial Support for CarersTo financially assist eligible carers of people with disability or a severe medical condition. | $12.7bn | $13.4bn | +$723m +5.7% | 8.1% | – |
| Program 1.2 – Paid Parental LeaveAssist parents to take time out of the workforce to bond with their children following birth or adoption and encourage c… | $4.1bn | $4.7bn | +$558m +13.5% | 2.8% | – |
| Program 2.1 – Families and CommunitiesTo strengthen relationships, support families, improve wellbeing of children and young people, reduce the cost of family… | $1.8bn | $2.1bn | +$308m +16.9% | 1.3% | – |
| Program 1.1 – Support for Families | $17.9bn | $18.2bn | +$267m +1.5% | 11.0% | – |
| Program 1.9 – Income Apportionment Resolution PaymentA one-off payment available to applicants under the Income Apportionment Resolution Scheme for each eligible debt affect… | $0 | $32m | +$32m new | 0.0% | – |
| Program 1.7 – Student PaymentsTo support eligible students whilst they undertake education and training, so that they can gain employment. To increase… | $3.1bn | $3.1bn | −$10m −0.3% | 1.9% | – |
| Outcome 2 | $436m | $421m | −$15m −3.5% | 0.3% | – |
| Outcome 1 | $192m | $168m | −$24m −12.3% | 0.1% | – |
| Program 1.8 – Disability Employment ServicesTo support people with disabilities, injury or health conditions to prepare for, find and maintain work. | $1.4bn | $1.3bn | −$79m −5.7% | 0.8% | – |
Worth a closer look
Patterns in this agency’s contract notices published in 2025-26 and 2026-27 to date. Each is a measurable pattern with common legitimate explanations; none is a finding of wrongdoing. How these are defined.
- Value increased after award 2 contracts · $25m
The contract’s value rose after it was first published. - Published long after it started 1 contract · $200k
The contract notice was published more than six months after the contract’s start date. - Supplier’s ABN was new 2 contracts · $29m
The supplier’s ABN had been active for less than three months when the contract started or was published.
Who gets paid
Contracts active in 2026-27, from AusTender. Amounts for the year are each contract’s value spread across its term. estimate: annualised
- Contracts active
- 359
- Suppliers
- 262
- Limited tender
- 1.9% of value · 80 contracts
- Value added by amendments
- $1.0bn across 167 amended contracts
Largest suppliers
Suppliers who are individuals are counted in the totals above but not listed. Why
| Supplier | Contracts | 2026-27 est. | Limited tender |
|---|---|---|---|
| SERENDIPITY WA PTY LTD | 1 | $150m | 0.0% |
| Atwork Australia Pty Ltd | 1 | $128m | 0.0% |
| Sureway Employment and Training Pty Ltd | 1 | $98m | 0.0% |
| Wise Employment Ltd | 1 | $87m | 0.0% |
| Karingal St Laurence Limited | 2 | $65m | 0.0% |
| Job Futures Ltd | 1 | $51m | 0.0% |
| MAX EMPLOYMENT | 1 | $50m | 0.0% |
| Telstra Health Pty Ltd | 1 | $41m | 0.0% |
| ENDEAVOUR FOUNDATION LIMITED | 1 | $33m | 0.0% |
| The Trustee for the Salvation Army (Victoria) Property Trust | 1 | $31m | 0.0% |
| Campbell Page Limited | 1 | $31m | 0.0% |
| AMES AUSTRALIA SERVICES | 1 | $24m | 0.0% |
| EIGHTY9 LIMITED | 1 | $23m | 0.0% |
| The Personnel Group Ltd | 1 | $21m | 0.0% |
| VERTO LTD | 1 | $21m | 0.0% |
Largest contracts
Suppliers who are individuals are counted in the totals above but not listed. Why
Professional services by kind of work
Contracts active in 2026-27 that AusTender files under “management and business professionals”, sorted by an AI model reading each contract’s description. AI-classified estimate: annualised
A further $8.5m across 19 contracts has descriptions too vague to classify with confidence, and is left out of the categories above.
In 2024-25 the entity reported paying $18m on consultancy contracts (cash, including GST). Contracts classified as consultancy come to $23m for that year (AusTender values spread over each contract’s term). The two are measured differently, so they are not expected to match. How we classify.
Grants awarded
Grants active in 2026-27, from GrantConnect. Each grant’s total value is spread across its term. estimate: annualised
- Grants active
- 9157
- 2026-27 est.
- $576m
- Recipients
- 7426
- Without an open round
- 35.3% of value
Includes $7.1m in awards the agency reported in aggregate, for many recipients at once, such as disaster payments.
By category
Largest recipients
Recipients who are individuals, and awards that name no single recipient, are counted above but not listed. Why
| Recipient | Grants | 2026-27 est. |
|---|---|---|
| Brotherhood of St. Laurence | 3 | $50m |
| Our Watch Limited | 6 | $26m |
| Remote Area Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Corporation | 2 | $19m |
| Lifeline Australia | 3 | $16m |
| Good Shepherd Australia New Zealand | 2 | $12m |
| The Salvation Army (New South Wales) Property Trust | 12 | $9.8m |
| The Salvation Army (Victoria) Property Trust | 5 | $8.9m |
| Swinburne University of Technology | 1 | $8.2m |
| Unitingcare Queensland Limited | 14 | $8.0m |
| Australian Red Cross Society | 3 | $7.8m |
| Australia's National Research Organisation for Women's Safety Limited | 1 | $7.0m |
| Good Things Foundation Limited | 2 | $6.7m |
| North Australian Aboriginal Family Legal Service - Aboriginal Corporation | 2 | $6.5m |
| Desert Knowledge Australia | 1 | $5.9m |
| Impact Investing Australia Ltd. | 4 | $5.7m |
Contract spending reported by the entity
What the entity reported in its annual reports, from the Transparency Portal: cash paid in each year, including GST. These are actual payments, unlike the AusTender contract values above. They are shown as published and are not used in any total on this site. reported
| Year | Consultancy | Other contracts |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | $18m 102 contracts |
$288m 513 contracts |
| 2023-24 | $22m 113 contracts |
$229m 680 contracts |
| 2022-23 | $12m 109 contracts |
$255m 731 contracts |
| 2021-22 | $25m 140 contracts |
$251m 924 contracts |
Organisations paid the most in 2024-25
As listed by the entity, usually its five largest of each type. Organisations who are individuals are not listed. Why
| Consultancy | 2024-25 |
|---|---|
| Nous Group Pty Ltd | $2.2m |
| Scyne Advisory Pty Ltd | $1.8m |
| Ernst & Young | $1.8m |
| Dept of Treasury | $1.6m |
| Whereto Research Based Consulting Pty Ltd | $1.3m |
| ARTD Pty Ltd | $964k |
| KPMG | $934k |
| Other contracts | 2024-25 |
|---|---|
| Telstra Health Pty Ltd | $64m |
| Jones Lang LaSalle (ACT) Pty Ltd | $45m |
| Mediabrands Australia Pty Ltd | $33m |
| The University of Melbourne | $25m |
| Karlka Recruiting Group Pty Ltd | $13m |