The federal government spent $29.5 billion on contracts for tech-related services in the period 2102-13 to 2016-17, according to a report issued by the Australian National Audit Office.
The amount was spent for IT, broadcasting, telecommunications, engineering, research and technology-based services in the period mentioned.
More than $3 billion was spent on software alone, with components for IT, broadcasting and telecommunications topping the list at $3.5 billion. Software maintenance and support cost about $2.9 billion.
Big amounts were also paid out to consultants in the 2012-13 to 2016-17 period, with Accenture taking home $1.19 billion for all its supplier contracts. For tech-related projects alone, the company that earned the most taxpayer dollars was Price Waterhouse Coopers which earned $174 million.
{loadposition sam08}Microsoft earned $245 million through its consulting work during the period mentioned.
Multinational companies wallowed in the gravy, with IBM earning $2.14 billion over the five years for 692 tech-related contracts. Close behind was Boeing which pulled in $1.6 billion for 165 contracts.
But when it came to all contracts, Boeing's earnings went up to $4.2 billion. Another American company, Lockheed Martin, earned $1.13 billion from 260 contracts.
The government forked out $10.35 billion for buying military assets from abroad, with a good amount of that presumably being for the Joint Strike Fighter planes.
Oracle Corporation earned $532 million for 674 contracts while Hewlett Packard pulled in $597 million for 1517 contracts.
The Defence Department spent the most on tech-related contracts over the five years, dishing out $15 billion on services.
Overall, spending on tech-related projects fell for the latest year, 2016-17; in 2015-16 the figure was a litle over $7 billion but this fell to under $6 billion in 2016-017.
The full report can be seen here.