A senior federal official oversaw a decision to award government contracts to a controversial consulting company even though the firm was partly owned by his long-standing friend.
But the new claims also raise concerns about the limits of the review by Dr Ian Watt, which did not interview key players involved in possible breaches of Commonwealth probity rules.
“More needs to be done to find out what was the basis of the allocation of $374 million worth of taxpayer money under the previous government. The contracts were worth over $100,000 and involved Synergy 360 advising Services Australia about how to reform systems to verify the identity of Australians using its services, including by using biometric checking.
In the email, Xaysavanh described the public servant as a “super smart & switched on guy” who was “looking for a contract role that would allow him to work on business transformation or strategy engagements”. “Questions related to Services Australia procurements should be directed to Services Australia,” the public official, who this masthead is not naming, said in a statement.
Xaysavanh refused to answer questions about her relationship with the government official, saying she wanted to get legal advice before doing so.But leaked Synergy 360 documents also reveal that at the same time firm was providing the confidential “identity management” advice to Services Australia, it was getting paid by at least two multinational technology firms – Unisys and Infosys – to advise them on securing future identity management contracts from Services Australia.
Watt, a former secretary of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet under prime ministers Tony Abbott and Julia Gillard, was asked to review the contracts after Shorten ordered an investigation by Services Australia and the National Disability Insurance Agency .
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