During 2018-19, 30 new consultancy contracts were entered into and this resulted in expenditure of $2.567 million for the period. In addition, 34 ongoing consultancy contracts were active during 2018-19 resulting in expenditure of $2.904 million.

All consultancy contracts entered into by AFMA above the value of $10 000 are available via the Austender website tenders.gov.au.

THE SELECTION AND ENGAGEMENT OF CONSULTANTS

The majority of consultancy services engaged during the 2018-19 were for fisheries research purposes. The selection and engagement of research consultants was primarily conducted through a limited tender because of the small pool of qualified vendors for these specific services.