ASIC’s $21.1 million consultant bill
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) spent over $21 million on consultants or other external personnel in just eight months, according to evidence provided to a Parliamentary Committee.
Answering a question on notice from Tasmanian independent Senator, Jacqui Lambie during Budget estimates, the regulator declined to detail what the consultants and other external personnel were actually doing.
“ASIC considers it would be an unreasonable diversion of resources to identify the nature of work of each of the 166 contracts as listed on Austender,” ASIC said.
“The vast majority of engagements however are for labour hire and consultants and relate to IT skills that are not able to be recruited due to the non-ongoing, short-term requirement. Consultancy and IT skills are required to support major business transformation programs, such as the Modernising Business Registry Program.”
ASIC said it also considered that it would be an unreasonable diversion of its resources to identify if any of the consultants it used augmented work ordinarily conducted by Australian Public Service employees.
“Expenditure on consultants/labour hire for the period 1 July 2022 to 28 February 2023 is $21,145,958.33 ex GST,” the ASIC answer said.
It is very easy to spend someone else’s money!
Arrogant, Secretive, Insane expenses & Corrupt.
That’s the ASIC advisers are forced to fund.
Disgusting ASIC
And who’s funding that?
How many more things to come out before there is a royal commission into ASIC?
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE. And Advisers are able to testify but we’ll have to be in a witness protection program for fear of retribution.
If ASIC ever asks me a question is it reasonable for me to say it’s in unreasonable diversion of resource to answer ?
Hypocrisy rules OK. Well done ASIC you bunch of muppets
You might add, “commercially sensitive” as well.
No doubt, that’s because we sheep are paying for it.
Probably shift the IT bill to advisers anyway….. Under their awesome work for yet another adviser register.
The committee must be doing a great job if ASIC just replies with the equivalent of can’t be bothered answering that question and moves on.