In the past 12-months we have been commissioned to conduct three separate independent reviews or assessments into Australia’s ICT contracting and labour hire markets with a specific focus on how they apply to public sector procurement.  The common finding in all reviews, and one of the few facts that is undisputed between the government and the suppliers be they recruitment or services firms, is that the labour pool is finite and common. The former fact alone should be enough to drive more public sector business towards incorporation of off-shore labour models offering access to additional capacity in India, China, the Philippines, or from wherever in our region additional labour pools reside. But it is still not the case in Australia. Prior to discussing the need for systemic change within both public sector procurement policies and ICT service vendor contracting approaches let’s first recap the national ecosystem.