At least $444 million worth of work was tacked on to existing government contracts inked with Australia’s top consulting firms last year, adding 25 per cent in billings or $1.2 million a day more.

Contract extensions since 2019-20 now total more than $1 billion for the big four firms – KPMG, PwC, EY and Deloitte – plus Accenture, raising serious questions about taxpayer-funded procurement practices.