Entity
Department of Health, Disability and Ageing
Also appears in the PBS or AusTender as “Department of Health and Aged Care”; “National Mental Health Commission”. How names are matched.
$172.2bn
2026-27 Budget estimate
+$7.9bn (+4.8%) on 2025-26 estimated actual
Kind of expense
Administered (payments on the government's behalf)$170.5bn 99.0%
Departmental (running costs: staff, suppliers, property)$1.7bn 1.0%
Program 3.2: Aged Care Services$43.8bn+5.7%
Program 4.2: National Disability Insurance Scheme$42.3bn+4.3%
Program 2.1: Medical Benefits$37.6bn+6.9%
Program 2.3: Pharmaceutical Benefits$23.4bn+6.1%
Program 2.4: Private Health Insurance$7.6bn+0.3%
Change on 2025-26
−10% or more
−2 to −10%
within ±2%
+2 to +10%
+10% or more, or new
Traced to named suppliers and grant recipients
Not yet loaded. Contract (AusTender) and grant (GrantConnect) records will show here, with the share of this total they account for.
By program
| Program | 2025-26 estimated actual |
2026-27 Budget estimate |
Change | Share | Removed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Program 2.1: Medical BenefitsDeliver a modern, sustainable Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) that provides rebates for Australians to support access t… | $35.1bn | $37.6bn | +$2.4bn +6.9% | 21.8% | – |
| Program 3.2: Aged Care ServicesTo provide support at home, residential care and respite care service programs for older people who require assistance. | $41.4bn | $43.8bn | +$2.4bn +5.7% | 25.4% | – |
| Program 4.2: National Disability Insurance SchemeTo improve the wellbeing and social and economic participation of people with disability, and their families and carers,… | $40.6bn | $42.3bn | +$1.7bn +4.3% | 24.6% | – |
| Program 2.3: Pharmaceutical BenefitsAdminister the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme to provide eligible Australians with access to timely subsidised medicines… | $22.1bn | $23.4bn | +$1.3bn +6.1% | 13.6% | – |
| Program 1.1: Health Research, Coordination and AccessFund Australian health and medical research, blood fractionation and blood related products. | $2.5bn | $2.9bn | +$411m +16.7% | 1.7% | – |
| Program 1.6: Primary Health Care Quality and CoordinationStrengthen primary health care by delivering funding to frontline primary health care services and improving the access,… | $1.2bn | $1.6bn | +$329m +26.4% | 0.9% | – |
| Program 1.2: Mental Health and Suicide PreventionSupport the mental health and wellbeing of all Australians by facilitating access to high quality, affordable, culturall… | $1.6bn | $1.7bn | +$104m +6.5% | 1.0% | – |
| Program 1.3: First Nations HealthDrive improved health outcomes for First Nations peoples through access to First Nations-led, culturally appropriate hea… | $1.2bn | $1.3bn | +$102m +8.3% | 0.8% | – |
| Program 1.5: Preventive Health and Chronic Disease SupportSupport health and wellbeing through providing access to cancer screening programs and undertaking activities to reduce… | $863m | $960m | +$97m +11.2% | 0.6% | – |
| Program 4.1: Disability and CarersTo support people with disabilities and carers to actively participate in community and economic life. | $478m | $536m | +$58m +12.1% | 0.3% | – |
| Program 1.9: ImmunisationDHDA contributes to the CDC’s work through its continuing policy and program responsibilities in health protection and h… | $737m | $788m | +$51m +6.9% | 0.5% | – |
| Program 1.4: Health WorkforceImprove the quality, distribution and planning of the Australian health workforce to better meet the needs of the commun… | $2.0bn | $2.0bn | +$36m +1.8% | 1.2% | – |
| Program 2.4: Private Health InsurancePromote affordable, cost-effective, quality private health insurance (PHI) and choice for consumers. | $7.6bn | $7.6bn | +$22m +0.3% | 4.4% | – |
| Program 1.7: Primary Care Practice Incentives and Medical IndemnityProvide incentive payments to eligible general practices through the Practice Incentives Program (PIP) to incentivise, p… | $650m | $671m | +$21m +3.2% | 0.4% | – |
| Outcome 4 | $132m | $152m | +$20m +15.4% | 0.1% | – |
| Program 2.7: Assistance through Aids and AppliancesImprove health outcomes for the Australian community through the provision of targeted assistance for aids and appliance… | $559m | $567m | +$7.5m +1.3% | 0.3% | – |
| Program 2.6: Health Benefit ComplianceSupport the integrity of health benefit claims under the Medicare Benefits Schedule, Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme and… | $19m | $26m | +$6.7m +35.0% | 0.0% | – |
| Program 2.2: Hearing ServicesProvide subsidised hearing services and devices to eligible people. | $701m | $699m | −$1.8m −0.3% | 0.4% | – |
| Outcome 2 | $290m | $287m | −$2.4m −0.8% | 0.2% | – |
| Program 2.5: Dental ServicesSupport eligible children to access essential dental health services through the Child Dental Benefits Schedule (CDBS). | $374m | $335m | −$40m −10.6% | 0.2% | – |
| Program 3.3: Aged Care QualityTo build and retain an aged care workforce to be available to meet the needs and rights of older people. | $460m | $404m | −$55m −12.1% | 0.2% | – |
| Program 3.1: Access and InformationTo support access and assessments through My Aged Care and navigation supports. My Aged Care provides older people and t… | $839m | $782m | −$57m −6.8% | 0.5% | – |
| Outcome 1 | $897m | $795m | −$102m −11.4% | 0.5% | – |
| Outcome 3 | $796m | $474m | −$322m −40.4% | 0.3% | – |
| Program 1.8: Health Protection, Emergency Response and RegulationProtect the health of the Australian community through national leadership and capacity building to detect, prevent and… | $1.2bn | $509m | −$642m −55.8% | 0.3% | – |
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 20 contracts · $113m
The contract’s value rose after it was first published. - Published long after it started 16 contracts · $15m
The contract notice was published more than six months after the contract’s start date. - Repeated limited tenders to one supplier 5 contracts · $6.3m
The same agency awarded the same supplier several contracts by limited tender in one financial year. - Grew past the open-tender threshold 1 contract · $104k
A contract awarded by limited tender below the open-tender threshold later rose in value to the threshold or above. - Supplier’s ABN was new 10 contracts · $7.3m
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
- 2549
- Suppliers
- 841
- Limited tender
- 18.7% of value · 644 contracts
- Value added by amendments
- $1.3bn across 932 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| GlaxoSmithKline Australia Pty Ltd | 1 | $415m | 0.0% |
| API Services Australia Pty Ltd | 3 | $340m | 0.0% |
| SYMBION PTY LTD | 2 | $219m | 0.0% |
| SIGMA HEALTHCARE LIMITED | 2 | $189m | 0.0% |
| ACCENTURE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD | 13 | $169m | 0.4% |
| Pfizer Australia Pty Ltd | 1 | $140m | 0.0% |
| AHA PTY LTD T/A AUSTRALIAN HEALTHCARE ASSOCIATE | 22 | $101m | 38.3% |
| Seqirus (Australia) Pty Ltd | 1 | $100m | 0.0% |
| Merck Sharpe & Dohme (AUSTRALIA) Pt | 1 | $100m | 100.0% |
| HEALTH ADMINISTRATION CORPORATION T/A Enable NSW | 2 | $75m | 81.9% |
| SANOFI-AVENTIS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD | 1 | $70m | 0.0% |
| St Vincent's Health Australia Ltd | 1 | $69m | 0.0% |
| National Aboriginal Community Contr Health Organisation (NACCHO) | 7 | $52m | 100.0% |
| EVOLVE FM PTY LTD | 10 | $51m | 12.7% |
| Australian Institute of Health and Welfare | 39 | $50m | 100.0% |
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
Labour hire / contractor 809$215m 31.9%
Outsourced service delivery 32$113m 16.7%
Consultancy 239$110m 16.3%
Property and facilities 36$72m 10.7%
IT services 46$68m 10.1%
Other 13$45m 6.7%
Legal 173$17m 2.5%
Audit, accounting and finance 34$15m 2.3%
Communications and marketing 35$13m 1.9%
Training and education 20$5.4m 0.8%
Recruitment 13$661k 0.1%
A further $5.7m across 23 contracts has descriptions too vague to classify with confidence, and is left out of the categories above.
In 2024-25 the entity reported paying $162m on consultancy contracts (cash, including GST). Contracts classified as consultancy come to $134m 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
- 10661
- 2026-27 est.
- $12.1bn
- Recipients
- 2463
- Without an open round
- 0.4% of value
Includes $118m in awards the agency reported in aggregate, for many recipients at once, such as disaster payments.
By category
Aged Care 6796$4.5bn 36.7%
Public Health Services 466$2.1bn 17.7%
Mental Health 498$1.8bn 15.0%
Indigenous Health 509$1.4bn 11.8%
Medical Research 973$454m 3.7%
Social Support 223$410m 3.4%
Addiction and Substance Abuse 159$216m 1.8%
Health and Medical Research 183$194m 1.6%
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. |
|---|---|---|
| Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia | 3 | $318m |
| WA Primary Health Alliance Limited | 69 | $309m |
| Unitingcare Queensland Limited | 18 | $216m |
| Australian Unity Home Care Service Pty Ltd | 21 | $204m |
| Diabetes Australia | 1 | $181m |
| The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners Limited | 2 | $156m |
| HNECC Limited | 35 | $140m |
| HammondCare | 30 | $133m |
| North Queensland Primary Healthcare Network Limited | 34 | $124m |
| South Eastern Melbourne Primary Health Network Ltd. | 27 | $120m |
| Healthdirect Australia Ltd | 6 | $118m |
| Adelaide Primary Health Network Limited | 33 | $115m |
| Royal District Nursing Service Limited | 10 | $112m |
| Melbourne Primary Care Network Limited | 28 | $110m |
| Health Network Northern Territory Ltd | 38 | $109m |
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 | $162m 685 contracts |
$3.1bn 3722 contracts |
| 2023-24 | $126m 629 contracts |
$2.6bn 3721 contracts |
| 2022-23 | $84m 491 contracts |
$2.5bn 4401 contracts |
| 2021-22 | $69m 382 contracts |
$2.3bn 3423 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 |
|---|---|
| Ernst & Young | $15m |
| Nous Group Pty. Ltd. | $10m |
| Monash University | $8.2m |
| Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency | $7.5m |
| Scyne Advisory Pty Ltd | $5.5m |
| Other contracts | 2024-25 |
|---|---|
| Glaxosmithkline Australia Pty Ltd | $437m |
| Seqirus (Australia) Pty Ltd | $174m |
| Pfizer Australia Pty Ltd | $145m |
| Datacom Systems (AU) Pty Ltd | $101m |
| Australian Healthcare Associates Pty Ltd | $99m |