Consultants are big pandemic winners, wrapped in a blanket of secrecy

Multinational management consulting firms have emerged as one of the biggest winners over the course of the pandemic, making millions from state and federal government to handle the response to COVID-19.

As Crikey reported recently, the government outsourced key pillars of its embattled vaccine rollout to McKinsey, Accenture and PwC. But new analysis shows the use of consultants, which has intensified over the last year, goes well beyond the vaccine rollout. Both the federal and state governments have spent millions on external consultants, who have been put in charge of everything from the COVIDSafe app to mapping the impact of the pandemic on tourism and education.

But despite all that money being spent, the public remains in the dark about whether it’s being put to good use.