A consultancy firm has been paid $660,000 to provide no “specific advice” about Australia’s COVID-19 vaccine strategy. 

In August 2020, the federal Health Department signed a $660,000 contract with global consultancy firm McKinsey Pacific Rim for vaccine strategy advice.

Officials have now revealed that the department received only an eight-page summary of publicly available vaccine data at the end of the four-week contract. 

The advice was provided at a time when the government was trying to select COVID-19 vaccines and work out how to roll out a national vaccination program.

The Health Department says McKinsey “assessed Australia's preparedness for a vaccination program”.

“McKinsey Pacific Rim has provided ongoing strategic advice and support to the department which is not contained in a specific document,” a senior Health Department lawyer has told ABC reporters.

“This included collaboration and participation in a range of activities. However, McKinsey Pacific Rim did not provide specific advice.”

It has been suggested that some of the consultants’ work may have taken the form of verbal briefings to ministers, the details of which would not be contained in the ABC’s freedom of information request.

McKinsey Pacific Rim has received several government contracts to advise on vaccine matters.

It received $3.8 million from the Health Department to provide “support services” for the vaccine rollout this year, as well as a $2.2 million contract by the Department of Industry in December 2020 for professional advice on boosting Australia’s mRNA vaccine manufacturing.

It was also granted a $2.3 million contract by the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet for advice on economic and social opportunities as vaccination progresses.

More details are accessible here.