Australian diplomats in Saudi Arabia won't be sweltering through the desert heat anytime soon, thanks to a fresh $33,483 contract awarded by the Foreign Affairs and Trade department for pool cleaning at the Australian embassy compound in Riyadh.
The two-year deal with local contractor Electron Saudi Services, which includes extension options that could stretch through 2030, brings total taxpayer spend on diplomatic pool maintenance at the post to more than $84,000 since 2022.
Although an embassy pool is a standard perk in a city where temperatures regularly exceed 40 degrees during the summer months of May to September, it's the department's procurement filing that provided insight.
Under the Commonwealth Procurement Rules, agencies handing limited tenders to foreign companies must explain why an Australian supplier didn't land the job.
The department's official AusTender justification for hiring a Riyadh-based pool cleaner was "Capability or capacity not available from an Australian or New Zealand business."
Public Eye accepts that sending a tradie from Canberra or Sydney on a 12,000-kilometre commute to skim leaves and check chlorine levels in the Arabian Desert was probably a stretch, even for Canberra's most generous travel allowances.
The compound pool is open to all embassy staff and used for official representational events.
Public Eye understands there are no public swimming pools available to provide respite from the high temperatures.
When Liberal MP Tony Pasin first got wind that Veterans' Affairs had dropped more than $300,000 on a brand overhaul, he went for the jugular.
As opposition spokesman on scrutiny of government waste and accountability, Mr Pasin was angered by the government's priorities while veterans have been experiencing longer wait times for support.
The original $230,600 contract for a new "Agency Brand Identity" with Darlinghurst-based Bandit Design Group was awarded in February 2026. By May, three variations in four months expanded the price tag by 35.6 per cent to $312,774.
Highlighting the department's backlog of 32,925 unallocated claims and processing wait times which stretch to an average of 364 days, Mr Pasin said returned service personnel needed their entitlements paid.
"Veterans don't need a new logo. They need their claims processed, their entitlements paid and their calls answered," Mr Pasin said.
"Diverting resources away from front-line services in favour of a costly bureaucratic rebrand at a time when returned service personnel in need are waiting longer than ever is shameful. It tells you everything you need to know about this government and their wrong priorities."
When Public Eye asked the department about the contract, a department spokesperson said it was not for a new logo itself.
The spokesperson said the design contract was going towards building a standalone identity for the brand-new Veteran and Family Wellbeing Agency, which launched in July 2026 in response to a royal commission recommendation into defence and veteran suicide.
Unlike Veteran Affairs' traditional focus on administrative claims and compensation, the new agency is focused on proactive transition and mental health support to help veterans and their families navigate civilian life before reaching a crisis point.
Regarding the amendments, no deliverables were left out of the original tender; instead, the extra scope was refined after consulting veterans and ex-service groups.
The independent review of embattled consulting company KPMG Australia carries an initial price tag of $178,400 and taxpayers might not know whether the company will actually foot the bill for months.
The finance department tapped former prime minister and cabinet secretary Dr Ian Watt via his entity IJ Watt to head the four-month inquiry into KPMG's government work under a limited tender.
The contract, executed on June 22, runs through to October 31, with an option to extend until January 31, 2027.
A finance department spokesperson said the $178,400 figure represents the maximum cap for Dr Watt's fees and incidental costs.
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However, that figure leaves out internal departmental expenses incurred by finance staff in supporting the high-profile review.
Although KPMG has offered to reimburse the Commonwealth for the cost of the probe, the department said it won't actually decide whether to accept the company's offer until the review is wrapped up.
KPMG was hit with a temporary ban on securing new federal work until September 30 after it was revealed that senior partners illicitly accessed and shared confidential client data from companies like Lendlease to win corporate audit tenders and later misled investigators to cover up the misconduct.
However, the suspension conveniently exempted existing panel arrangements, allowing agencies to keep extending and amending pre-existing contracts with the company, which took in more than $223 million in federal contracts in 2025-26 alone.
The department said no decision has yet been made on extending Dr Watt's timeline past October.
Greens finance spokesperson Barbara Pocock was chasing answers at budget estimates in May 2026 over a redacted figure in a Bureau of Meteorology contract with tech company Accenture, only to be handed an official response that leaves plenty of room to read between the lines.
Executed in March 2026, the contract has Accenture building technical infrastructure for the Australian Climate Service's Climate Risk Hub across four partner agencies.
Listed in Senate documents with a redacted total figure over its potential seven-year lifespan, Senator Pocock pushed officials to reveal the true commitment, highlighting Accenture's track record of cost expansion across government IT projects.
The Bureau's answer to the question on notice said committed figure to the firm is $15.68 million over an initial three-year term.
However, officials said there is another $6.8 million in "uncommitted funds" attached to the deal.
Any move to dip into those extra millions to extend the contract through its maximum term will require high-level sign-off from the head of the ACS and senior governance oversight.
An ACS spokesperson said the additional figure represented the total maximum potential value of all extension options through 2033.
ACS ran extensive scoping and an open tender process to lock in a fixed price specifically designed to avoid a repeat performance, the spokesperson said.
The bureau's response likely did not instill confidence in Senator Pocock after The Bureau's website overhaul with Accenture exploded from $33 million to $77 million.
