Definition of a consultant
Definition of a consultant
Procurement Board Direction PBD-2023-05 defines a consultant as follows:
“A consultant is defined as a person or organisation engaged to provide recommendations or professional advice to assist decision-making by management."
Suppliers may call themselves ‘consultants’, but unless they meet the above conditions, they may be defined as professional services or contingent labour for annual reporting purposes.
Non-consultant types of external labour
Contingent labour (or contractors) refers to people employed by a contingent labour supplier and hired from that supplier by an NSW Government agency to provide labour or services. Contingent labour does not refer to consultants or companies engaged under a contract or statement of work to provide services to a client.
Recurring services are predefined in a contract and delivered on an ongoing basis for more than one year. Examples include repairs and maintenance, technical support, managed services and other outsourcing arrangements.
Statutory appointments are where an individual has been appointed to fulfil a role defined in legislation or other regulatory instruments. Examples include board members, tribunal members and Audit and Risk Committee members.
Volunteers are individuals who provide support to the community voluntarily, for example, volunteers of the Rural Fire Service and State Emergency Service.
Consulting engagements
Consultancy engagements are distinguished from other professional services engagements by one or more of the following characteristics:
- the advisory nature of the work
- the output reflects the independent view or findings of the consultant
- the consultant's performance of the work is not, or mostly not, under the client's direct supervision and direction
- the consultancy being the sole or majority element of the contract in terms of relative value or importance.
Non-consultancy professional services engagements often have one or more of the following characteristics:
- implementation or delivery of an existing proposal or strategy
- output that does not represent the independent view of the professional services provider
- more direct supervision and control by the client.
| Area | Example of consultancy | Example of non-consultancy |
|---|---|---|
| Business processes | Engaged to review business processes and provide independent strategic advice or recommendations. | Engaged in preparing guidance materials that assist with the implementation of proposed or existing business processes. |
| Financial services/actuarial services | Engaged to independently review and advise on the asset management, accounting systems, financial viability, risk modelling, or other financial dimensions of a government business enterprise. | Engaged to perform routine auditing, accounting, financial risk and impact management, and other financial services, even though these may include some level of professional advice. |
| Geotechnical or cadastral surveying | Engaged to advise on the viability of a government decision based on geotechnical or cadastral survey information. | Engaged to provide routine geotechnical or cadastral surveying services, even though that includes professional advice. |
| Government and business strategy | Engaged to develop a business strategy and provide independent and transparent strategic advice or recommendations. | Engaged in the implementation of the business strategy including associated transformation activities. |
| Human resources | Engaged to provide independent advice on:
| Engaged to implement new systems or procedures for recruitment or organisational development. |
| Information technology/ ICT | Note: information technology/ ICT examples largely mirror others in this table. Additional examples that are more specific to ICT may include: | |
| ICT change management | Engaged in providing advice on standardised methods and procedures required for efficient and prompt handling of all changes to control IT infrastructure. | Engaged in implementing changes and ensuring that they are managed and promptly communicated with stakeholders to optimise risk exposure and minimise impact and disruption. |
| ICT governance, strategy, and systems | Engaged to develop:
| Engaged to undertake implementation per the specifications, for example, supplying or writing the software and constructing the systems. |
| ICT project management | Engaged to design and develop a project management methodology for an IT solution. | Engaged to implement. organise, lead, and control the project management plan/team to ensure timely delivery against allocated resources and budget. |
| Infrastructure services | Engaged to provide advice about any stage in the infrastructure asset lifecycle from concept through to commissioning of all economic and social infrastructure assets for the NSW Government. | Engaged to develop/deliver an infrastructure system. |
| Marketing and customer | Note: these engagements are mostly non-advice (delivery) as they involve the performance of predefined marketing and customer-related activities. | Engaged to conduct market research. customer experience surveys, benchmarking other predefined marketing and customer-related activities. |
| Policy and program review and development | Engaged to provide independent high-level policy advice on outcomes of a government program and make recommendations. | Engaged to modify/update an existing policy. Engaged to collect and analyse data regarding a program under the direction of an agency. |
| Procurement and supply chain | Engaged in providing independent advice or recommendations on the organisation's procurement and supply chain strategy and structure. | Engaged to support or manage a specific procurement and supply chain project or initiative. |
| Project management/ change management | Note: these engagements are mostly non-advice (delivery) as they involve the execution or implementation of a predefined plan or strategy. | Engaged in developing and executing project management plan or change management plan and supporting delivery of day-to-day project or program activities. |
| Taxation | Engaged to independently review and provide specialist strategic advice on the tax structure. | Engaged to conduct and deliver routine taxation services. |
| Training | Engaged to independently assess organisational training needs and provide advice on training systems and programs. | Engaged to deliver the actual training which may include developing training materials. |
| Transaction services | Engaged to provide independent advice or recommendations on major transactions (for example, merger, acquisition, sale) | Engaged to undertake and execute major transactions on behalf of organisation performing end to end activities. |
Annual reports provide transparency for topics of public interest, including:
- which government initiatives were supported by external advice
- which suppliers provided that advice
- what was the cost of the advice
- how often government seeks external advice to assist decision making each year.
Services provided under the Legal Services Panel and the Regional and Rural Legal Service Panel are excluded from the definition of a consultant for annual reporting purposes.
GSF Agencies are required to prepare, table and publish Annual Reports under the Government Sector Finance Act 2018 (GSF Act). The TPG23-10 Annual Reporting Requirements Treasury Policy and Guidelines outlines the annual reporting requirements under the GSF Act, its associated regulations, Treasurer’s Directions, and some legislation, and policies.
International procurement agreements (IPA) definitions
International procurement agreements use Central Product Classification (CPC) codes to define consulting services.
Follow the links to view a detailed description for each category on the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD) website:
- 83111 Strategic management consulting services
- 83112 Financial management consulting services
- 83113 Human resources management consulting services
- 83114 Marketing management consulting services
- 83115 Operations management consulting services
- 83116 Supply chain and other management consulting services
- 83121 Public relations services
- 83131 IT consulting services
- 83211 Architectural advisory services
- 83231 Landscape architectural advisory services
- 83310 Engineering advisory services
- 83411 Geological and geophysical consulting services
- 83931 Environmental consulting services
- 85220 Security consulting services