Entity
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Also appears in the PBS or AusTender as “Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade - Australian Aid Program”. How names are matched.
−$1.9bn (−19.5%) on 2025-26 estimated actual
Kind of expense
Traced to named suppliers and grant recipients
$2.4bn falls in 2026-27, equal to 30.2% of this total: $2.3bn in contracts and $134m 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
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 10 contracts · $23m
The contract’s value rose after it was first published. - Published long after it started 76 contracts · $364m
The contract notice was published more than six months after the contract’s start date. - Published late in a batch 15 contracts · $9.0m
An agency published many contract notices on one day, each more than six months after the contract started. - Repeated limited tenders to one supplier 12 contracts · $4.7m
The same agency awarded the same supplier several contracts by limited tender in one financial year. - Grew past the open-tender threshold 1 contract · $79k
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 6 contracts · $2.4m
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
- 3391
- Suppliers
- 1734
- Limited tender
- 21.6% of value · 1686 contracts
- Value added by amendments
- $1.1bn across 1031 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| DT GLOBAL ASIA PACIFIC PTY LTD | 45 | $370m | 0.2% |
| PALLADIUM INTERNATIONAL PTY LTD | 24 | $230m | 0.1% |
| TETRA TECH INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT PTY LTD | 32 | $122m | 0.2% |
| ABT ASSOCIATES PTY LTD | 60 | $109m | 0.4% |
| Cushman & Wakefield Pty Ltd | 9 | $87m | 0.7% |
| Note Printing Australia Limited | 1 | $84m | 100.0% |
| Australia Post - Melbourne | 4 | $77m | 100.0% |
| COWATER INTERNATIONAL INC | 6 | $74m | 0.0% |
| DATACOM CONNECT PTY LTD | 1 | $35m | 0.0% |
| Cromwell Developments Pty Ltd | 1 | $33m | 0.0% |
| CIGNA HEALTH CARE (A-BASED) GOVERNMENT OF AUSTRALIA A-BASED | 1 | $27m | 100.0% |
| ADAM SMITH INTERNATIONAL (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD | 7 | $26m | 1.8% |
| Data#3 Limited Formerly: Data #3 Business | 23 | $23m | 3.6% |
| The Boston Consulting Group Pty Ltd | 3 | $22m | 0.0% |
| Sirva Relocation Pty Ltd | 1 | $19m | 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 $123m across 99 contracts has descriptions too vague to classify with confidence, and is left out of the categories above.
In 2024-25 the entity reported paying $2.2m on consultancy contracts (cash, including GST). Contracts classified as consultancy come to $239m 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
- 981
- 2026-27 est.
- $134m
- Recipients
- 268
- Without an open round
- 0.5% of value
Includes $9.6m 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. |
|---|---|---|
| Australian Rugby League Commission Limited | 2 | $40m |
| Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency | 1 | $6.1m |
| Australian Olympic Committee Inc | 1 | $4.4m |
| International Atomic Energy Agency | 2 | $4.2m |
| Rugby Australia | 1 | $3.2m |
| International Atomic Energy Agency Department of Safeguards | 1 | $2.8m |
| The Australian National University | 32 | $2.5m |
| RMIT University | 39 | $2.3m |
| The University of Western Australia | 50 | $2.3m |
| Queensland Rugby Football League Limited | 1 | $2.2m |
| Swinburne University of Technology | 18 | $2.0m |
| International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) | 1 | $1.9m |
| Monash University | 18 | $1.7m |
| Netball Australia Limited | 1 | $1.6m |
| University of Technology Sydney | 20 | $1.5m |
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 | $2.2m 18 contracts |
$2.4bn 4889 contracts |
| 2023-24 | $2.8m 24 contracts |
$2.1bn 4151 contracts |
| 2022-23 | $2.4m 21 contracts |
$1.9bn 3348 contracts |
| 2021-22 | $450k 14 contracts |
$1.6bn 2992 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 |
|---|---|
| The Boston Consulting Group Pty Ltd | $786k |
| ConceptSix Pty Ltd | $595k |
| Charterpoint Pty Ltd | $322k |
| Allen and Clarke Consulting Pty Ltd | $94k |
| Other contracts | 2024-25 |
|---|---|
| DT Global Asia Pacific Pty Ltd | $429m |
| Abt Associates Pty Ltd | $238m |
| Tetra Tech International Development Pty Ltd | $133m |
| Palladium International Pty Ltd | $121m |
| The Trust Company (Australia) Limited | $120m |