Some of the world’s largest tech companies offered “gifts” worth nearly $500,000 to Australian public servants, a new report has found.
The Digital Transformation Agency (DTA) quietly released its report into major ICT seller gifts and benefits to Australian Public Service (APS) employees on Friday.
The investigation was in response to revelations in mid-2024 that Salesforce had provided more than 100 gifts to National Disability Insurance Agency employees over the course of four years, during a time when it was awarded a lucrative contract that eventually grew to $135 million.
As part of the review, DTA required nine of the biggest tech suppliers to the federal government – AWS, IBM, Microsoft, Oracle, Rimini Street, SAP, Salesforce, ServiceNow and Data#3 – to disclose all gifts they had offered to APS employees.
This was then matched with declarations by federal government departments and agencies, which found most of the gifts were knocked back.
The report covers the period from April 2025 to March 2026.
During that time, the tech giants analysed offered 3,662 gifts to government employees, worth a total of just under $500,000.
More than 85 per cent of those offers were rejected.
Public servants accepted 539 gifts, worth a total of just under $30,000.
Most of these gifts were conference tickets, industry events, training and other professional development activities.
Half a million dollars in gift offers
DTA said the review found most gift offers and acceptances were being reported appropriately.
“The analysis of data collected for the reporting period found no significant divergence, systemic concern or information that would justify referring an APS / SES employee from another entity for investigation,” the report said.
“A small number of offers would generally be unacceptable, such as sporting match tickets, but all reported cases in scope were declined.”
The agency said the ongoing public scrutiny surrounding the issue appeared to have prompted both technology vendors and public servants to consider gift offers more carefully.
The figures were heavily skewed by ServiceNow, which accounted for more than 90 per cent of all offers. The DTA attributed this to the company’s use of bulk distribution lists and its regular conference-style events.
ServiceNow made more than 3,100 gift offers to APS staff, with fewer than 150 accepted.
IBM recorded the second-highest number of offers, making 467 worth almost $24,000. Of those, 354 were accepted.
SAP offered 21 gifts worth about $3,200, while Microsoft offered five gifts worth just over $1,000, all of which were accepted.
Despite being at the centre of the original controversy, Salesforce did not make any gift offers during the reporting period. Rimini Street also reported no offers.
The departments and agencies landing the gifts
The Department of Defence accepted the highest number of gifts, with staff accepting 33 items worth $6,300, followed by Services Australia, which accepted 24 gifts worth more than $3,300.
The Australian Taxation Office and Department of Home Affairs also accepted gifts worth more than $2,000 total, while DTA employees accepted eight gifts worth more than $1,000.
The report recommends retaining the current $100 threshold for declaring gifts, strengthening public reporting requirements, and requiring suppliers to proactively disclose the value of offers.
“The findings point to a system that is generally working, but where clearer expectations and more consistent reporting would improve integrity, transparency and public confidence,” the report said.
“Sellers and buyers must continue to manage real and apparent conflicts of interest.
“APS employees must take reasonable steps to avoid conflicts, and sellers must declare and manage conflicts connected with Australian government contracts and avoid bringing the government into disrepute.”
