Allegations that former cabinet minister Stuart Robert intervened to help friends negotiate a lucrative Centrelink contract will be "thoroughly" investigated, NDIS Minister Bill Shorten says.
Nine newspapers have reported that consulting firm Synergy360, whose shareholders are close friends of Mr Robert, claimed in leaked emails that the then-NDIS minister had allegedly met with them several times over a multi-million-dollar Centrelink contract, which was ultimately won by a client of the firm.
The files detail how Synergy360 consultant and Mr Robert's close friend David Milo allegedly provided repeated access to Mr Robert for one of the company's clients, Infosys, which Mr Robert announced in 2019 had won a multi-million-dollar open tender to deliver welfare calculation technology to Centrelink.
The allegations do not constitute any illegal conduct and there is no suggestion Mr Robert received any payment.
A spokesman for Mr Robert denied any misconduct.
"Mr Robert completely rejects the assertions contained in the article and has not breached either probity requirements or the Ministerial Code of Conduct.
"The departmental procurement referred to in the [Nine newspapers] article commenced 10 months before Mr Robert became minister and the company had been identified as the preferred supplier by the department before the minister met with them.
"At no stage was Mr Robert involved in the procurement process, as is appropriate."
Speaking to ABC Radio this morning, Mr Shorten said he had ordered a renewed investigation into whether there was any intervention by Mr Robert.
"I think the detail is extremely concerning," Mr Shorten said.
"I want to find out how the contract was allocated, I want to get to the history of this process; it's big money.
"I'm not saying there's fire yet, but the smoke hasn't blown away, in fact it's getting thicker."
Mr Shorten said the matter was something the newly legislated National Anti-Corruption Commission would be able to investigate.
Nine newspapers had previously reported that Mr Robert had allegedly helped the same company while serving as a backbencher in 2017 and 2018, but the new allegations cover his time when he returned to the front bench, when he was subject to the ministerial code of conduct.
Following those allegations, Mr Shorten said he had asked Services Australia and the National Disability Insurance Agency to investigate the contracts Synergy 360 had helped to secure to assure him and the public that the process "was entirely above board".
