The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has switched providers for its IT support service, moving from long-term supplier NEC and its lucrative $55 million contract to a new $28 million deal with Unisys.
The switch to the US giant comes as the company is embroiled in an alleged lobbying and procurement scandal involving former minister Stuart Robert and a consulting firm.
DFAT, which is not involved in the scandal, says it received multiple bids alongside Unisys during a competitive open tender.
Under the new deal, Unisys’s Australian subsidiary will be paid $27.9 million over three years to provide an IT Service Desk to the department, which has over 6000 staff, many operating in foreign countries.
DFAT previously used Japanese giant NEC for the service under a mammoth eight-year, $54.8 million contract that grew from $34 million across 17 extensions and variations since 2015.
It entered a new deal with Unisys in March, just as a review of some of the company’s contracts tainted by an alleged lobbying scandal was made public.
The review of Unisys and several other tech firms’ government contracts linked to Synergy 360 was sparked by reports in the Nine newspapers that former government services minister Stuart Robert had provided the consulting firm and its clients with advice on winning lucrative government contracts.
According to the Nine report, Mr Robert helped Unisys secure a meeting with the government’s Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity to pitch its software product.
The allegations centred on contracts Synergy 360 and its clients won from Services Australia and the National Disability Insurance Agency.
DFAT is not involved in the alleged scandal and its contract with Unisys was awarded under open tender, a spokesperson told InnovationAus.com
“The department was able to conduct a competitive process with multiple bids utilising an open tender approach via AusTender,” a DFAT spokesperson said.
