ACT Health has outsourced a key "financial controller" position to private consulting firm KPMG, at $1980 a day for 85 days of work, but the directorate refuses to say who got the job.
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Government contract documents show the ACT's biggest department sought out the services of the unnamed contractor through a "single select" contract offer to private consulting giant KPMG.
It is one of the latest examples of outsourcing at the territory's health directorate, where spending on consultants and contractors has more than tripled to over $18 million in the past four financial years.
The 2015-16 fiscal year saw an increase of about $8 million spent on consultants and contractors, mostly due to $4.5 million spent on consultants for its "innovation" program, as well as some $3.3 million on contractors for the ACT's new dialysis centre.
The new 85-day appointment handed to KPMG comes with a tidy $168,300 pay packet, paying about $1980 a day, a contract the directorate said in a statement it considered "consistent with market rates".
Compared to the latest ABS figures on average weekly adult earnings, the contract pays higher than every measured industry, except mining [at about $2500 a week], and was about $450 more than the average full-time earnings figure of $1533.
Documents show the consultant started on February 2 this year as a "contractor financial controller", working to work in the directorate's strategic finance branch.
The role entails working on issues including ensuring the directorate fulfils its obligations for "financial and statutory reporting, performance reporting, management reporting, budget development and coordination and ensuring accounting policies and procedures remain current and comprehensive".
An ACT Health spokeswoman said in a statement the work was outsourced to "address a short term gap in capability" to continue delivering its "innovation and reform program", and while only for 85 days, the contract includes a clause to extend - or cut short - the contract, if needed.
"This has been undertaken while ACT Health determines the best approach for building and maintaining this capability into the future," she said.
The consultant will be working as part of the directorate's major $11.9 million, which is looking across the health system to find savings to reinvest back into health, as well as address the ACT's high-cost hospital system.
The contract also outlined the role would act as "the conduit between ACT Health and the territory government shared services branch for banking and taxation management" and would also be responsible for "cash management" and "capital works funding and reporting".
"The contractor will primarily be responsible for ACT Health's financial policies, systems and processes, to ensure: complete and accurate data, the delivery of accurate monthly, quarterly and annual financial reports and compliance with fiduciary and legal obligations," the contract reads.
Documents show the unnamed person filling the role would report to the directorate's chief financial officer, but it is unclear why the directorate needed to outsource responsibility for "statutory reporting" work, given the contract is not a statutory appointment.
The spokeswoman suggested that KPMG had asked the directorate to keep a number of details of the contract secret, under commercial-in-confidence arrangements, and the directorate "has agreed to the exemption" from disclosure".
It is unclear why the directorate approached KPMG directly with the offer to tender for the work, rather putting out a public request to the market, but an ACT Health spokeswoman said in a statement that it was consistent with the government's procurement regulations.
