The ACT government's local procurement spend plummeted from 54 per cent to just 34 per cent over the past six years, while the territory confirmed it does not centrally track how much of its multibillion-dollar budget is actually reaching local small businesses or Indigenous enterprises.
Although overall expenditure on major invoices surged by nearly 80 per cent since 2021 to a peak of $2.91 billion, analysis by The Canberra Times using Australian Business Register (ABR) data of the notifiable invoices register - which records GST-inclusive payments of $25,000 or more - revealed a marked shift in contracts staying or leaving the territory.
An ACT government spokesperson defended the figures and said ABR data could be misleading as it recorded a registered address rather than an "operational footprint".
The data might not accurately capture where employees were physically located nor where services were delivered from, noting that large firms registered interstate often had significant local offices employing Canberra residents, the spokesperson said.
The government said that the register also did not include other payments such as grants and non-procurement-based funding, which also contributed to the local economy.
In early February 2026, the ACT government passed the Government Procurement Amendment Bill 2025 to streamline processes.
ACT Finance Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith said the changes, which allowed for single-quote engagements for local firms on contracts up to $500,000, would "help us continue to support Canberra businesses as well as meet our addressable spend targets".
Independent MLA Thomas Emerson, who raised the issue in the Legislative Assembly, questioned how the government could monitor its own policy goals without centralised data.
"The ACT government has introduced recent reforms to encourage procurement from Canberra-based SMEs, but isn't measuring how much government spending actually goes to those businesses," Mr Emerson said.
"How is the government supposed to know if their local procurement policies are achieving their aims if they're not even tracking the data?"
The analysis showed that since mid-2015, more than $254 million has been spent on consultancy fees.
Since July 2021, more than $134 million in consultancy payments has left the territory to non-ACT registered businesses and local firms secured just $30.4 million, about 18 per cent of the total spend.
The government spokesperson said that for major infrastructure projects, the delivery model meant a proportion of contract value "flows through to local subcontractors and suppliers".
Although these payments were not reflected on the public register because they were made by external entities, the government said the Secure Local Jobs Code ensured these benefits extended to the local subcontracting chain.
The disparity was most visible in major projects. In 2021-22, interstate firm AECOM Australia was paid $23.79 million for work on the light rail stage 2 project, capturing half of the territory's entire consultancy budget for the year.
Similarly, 92 per cent of digital and ICT funding flowed to outside businesses, with Accenture Australia receiving more than $6 million. Consultancy and strategic health procurement had only 5.6 per cent remain with ACT-registered firms.
Mr Emerson said local tech firms were being overlooked despite finding success elsewhere.
"I consistently hear from impressive local firms that are picking up government contracts across the border and abroad but can't get a look-in when they bid for ACT government work; they just want to be fairly considered on their merits, rather than being excluded in favour of interstate and multinational competitors," he said.
The lack of centralised data extended to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Procurement Policy. Ms Stephen-Smith said, in a formal response to Mr Emerson, that the territory did not delineate between Indigenous businesses based in the ACT region and those based interstate.
The government said that despite these figures, the ACT had the highest business growth rate in the country - 17.4 per cent - between 2021 and 2025, Australian Bureau of Statistics data showed.
Mr Emerson said the lack of transparency was concerning, with more than 25 per cent of territory entities failing to meet Indigenous procurement targets.
"While places like Scotland are finding new ways to increase the wealth of their local communities, our government seems to have been doing the opposite. Let's get serious about buying from local firms and backing local industries, rather than just talking about it."
Agency-level procurement trends from 2024-2025 annual reports showed Canberra Health Services directed 0.25 per cent of its budget toward Indigenous enterprises, compared to 19.5 per cent by the Office of the Work Health and Safety Commissioner.
The ACT government attributed this gap to supplier market characteristics. It said health procurements often focused on highly specialised medical equipment where there were limited Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander suppliers, unlike consultancy markets, which presented greater opportunities for engagement.
