East Gippsland Shire Council says a sharp increase in consultant expenditure over the past three years has been driven largely by grant-funded disaster preparedness programs and the need for highly specialised, independent expertise.
Council’s annual report shows consultant spending has risen by $3.156 million during that period, prompting questions about the scale and purpose of the increase.
Acting chief executive officer Sarah Johnston said the additional expenditure aligned directly with external funding received for specific projects, particularly in emergency management and community resilience.
“We actively seek cost savings across the business, and this has included the use of consultants,” Ms Johnston said.
“There are occasions where consultants are required for highly specialised work where there would not be a business case to recruit those skills in house.”
According to council, around $775,000 of the increase was funded through the Disaster Ready Fund to support disaster preparedness initiatives, while a further $750,000 related to bushfire support programs.
Ms Johnston said those projects delivered tangible outcomes, including community-led Emergency Management Plans, evacuation modelling, the development of council’s online Emergency Dashboard, emergency relief centre training, and work to support climate risk assessment and stakeholder engagement.
Other consultant-funded programs included initiatives aimed at economic development, such as digital confidence and business sustainability projects, as well as the Agricultural Leadership Program, which focused on building capacity within East Gippsland’s farming communities.
Council also noted that some consultant expenditure reflects programs it auspices on behalf of community groups.
“In these cases, the spend appears in our budget as consultant costs, but it is essentially a direct payment to the community group to deliver the program they have secured funding for,” Ms Johnston said.
Council said consultant services were essential in delivering several major initiatives over the past three years, including the Emergency Dashboard — described as the first of its kind in Victoria — which provides a central source of emergency information from multiple agencies.
The dashboard was developed in response to community feedback following the 2019–20 bushfires and was funded through external grants.
Consultants were also engaged to develop 18 Community Emergency Management Plans across the shire, designed to give local communities a stronger voice and clearer guidance during emergencies.
In addition, council said consultants are required for specialist regulatory tasks that demand independence, such as environmental audits of landfills, to meet government reporting and compliance requirements.
“These projects deliver critical benefits to the community or are needed to meet government reporting requirements,” Ms Johnston said.
Council maintains it will continue to assess the value of consultant engagement while prioritising cost savings and limiting the use of external providers to areas where specialist skills or independence are essential.
