Software major Infosys said it has ended ties with Australian lobbying firm Synergy 360, which is in the middle of a scandal pertaining to a former member of Parliament Stuart Robert. Further, a top Infosys executive stated in a parliamentary committee hearing that the company has taken steps to strengthen governance in the country and denied that it used the firm for lobbying.
In a parliamentary hearing, Infosys’ Regional Head for the Asia Pacific region Andrew Groth said that it had paid Synergy360 AU$16 million over a five-year period to help it grow the company’s government business in Australia since it had only worked in commercial contracts up until that point.
In a response to questions by the committee, Groth said that of the $16 million, 70 percent of the amount pertained to the resources required to deliver on the programs it was on, 15 percent for work in terms of sales support, and 15 percent was in success fees. A ‘success fee’ is a type of agreement where the fee is paid when a particular outcome is positive.
“Synergy 360 was appointed in 2018, and was subjected to our onboarding processes and adherence to our supplier code of conduct. I have been advised that Infosys asked Synergy 360 if they were required to be on the Lobbyist Register and they advised, they did not,” Groth said.
He added that Infosys was working with Synergy360 to help advise in growing its government business in the country, and to help design, build, and deliver IT solutions. “We worked to pursue opportunities across state and federal government. I would like to inform the Committee that the relationship with this company has ended,” he added.
That year, Infosys won a contract through open tender to transform a system that the Australian government uses to calculate and pay entitlements to those on welfare — the Entitlement Calculation Engine at Services Australia.
Groth also told the committee that he has met the MP in question 11 times over three-and-a-half years to update him on the progress of the project. He later added that the amount earned on projects done with Services Australia and other government agencies was approximately $190 million.
In a statement, Infosys said that it is cooperating with the Australian parliamentary inquiry in good faith.
"It is important to note that the ECE contract being referenced resulted from a 14-month long stringent government procurement process as per the Australian Government procurement framework. This included government appointed pricing and probity consultants and government legal counsel to ensure an unbiased selection process," the statement said.
It added that the company is committed to its code of conduct for the work it does with the government of Australia and otherwise.
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