$15.6B of federal contracts end on one day: 31 December

Leave out Defence’s accounts with the US government, and Commonwealth contracts worth $27.1B reach their published end date in the next 90 days. $15.6B of that (58%, 3,271 contracts) ends on a single day: 31 December 2026.

Counting the US government accounts, the totals are $50.5B (10,026 contracts) in 90 days and $38.6B on 31 December. Most of the difference is one contract: Defence’s Joint Strike Fighter account with the US government ($18.6B, also ending 31 December). It has been amended 71 times, many of them extensions, so it is more likely to be extended than re-tendered. That is why this report leads with the figures without the US accounts.

This report covers Commonwealth contracts only (AusTender). It does not include state or territory contracts.

Stacked bar chart of the value of Commonwealth contracts ending in the next 90 days. All contracts: $38.6B (76%) ends on 31 December 2026, of $50.5B in total. Excluding US government accounts: $15.6B (58%) ends on 31 December, of $27.1B in total.

1. $50.5B ends in 90 days, $131B within a year

Window (end date, from 8 Nov 2026)	Contracts	Value	Without US government accounts
90 days (to 6 Feb 2027)	10,026	$50.5B	$27.1B
180 days (to 7 May 2027)	15,428	$60.8B	$34.4B
365 days (to 8 Nov 2027)	36,110	$131.1B	$98.8B

The 90-day window is heavy because of 31 December. The year view has a second, bigger cliff: 12,367 contracts worth $46.0B end on 30 June 2027, the last day of the financial year.

Values are the total contract value as published, including amendments. They are not yearly spend.

2. The 31 December cliff

3,324 contracts end on 31 December 2026. That is a third of the contracts and 76% of the value ending in the next 90 days.
No other day comes close. The next biggest is 18 December ($1.9B, 229 contracts), then 30 November ($1.4B, 901 contracts).
Without the US government accounts, 3,271 contracts worth $15.6B still end on 31 December.

3. Defence holds three-quarters of the value, much of it with the US government

Agency	Contracts	Value ending in 90 days	Without US government accounts
Department of Defence	3,110	$37.5B	$14.1B
National Blood Authority	11	$3.4B	$3.4B
Services Australia	472	$2.6B	$2.6B
Department of Home Affairs	226	$926M	$926M
DFAT – Australian Aid Program	85	$791M	$791M
Dept of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water	411	$785M	$785M
Department of Social Services	49	$294M	$294M
Australian Taxation Office	165	$252M	$252M
Department of Veterans' Affairs	217	$251M	$251M
Australian Electoral Commission	180	$242M	$242M

Defence has $37.5B ending (74% of the total). $23.4B of that sits in two accounts with the US government: the Joint Strike Fighter account ($18.6B, one contract) and the Foreign Military Sales account ($4.8B, 76 contracts).
Without them, Defence still has $14.1B ending: 52% of the $27.1B left.
127 agencies have at least one contract ending in the 90 days.

Bar chart of the top 10 agencies by value of contracts ending in the next 90 days. Department of Defence $37.5B, of which $23.4B is US government accounts (JSF, FMS) and $14.1B other suppliers; National Blood Authority $3.4B; Services Australia $2.6B; Home Affairs $926M; Foreign Affairs (Aid Program) $791M; Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water $785M; Social Services $294M; Australian Taxation Office $252M; Veterans' Affairs $251M; Australian Electoral Commission $242M.

4. The biggest contracts ending outside the US accounts

Agency	Supplier	What (as published)	Value	Ends
National Blood Authority	CSL Behring (Australia)	National Fractionation Agreement	$3.35B	31 Dec 2026
Services Australia	Telstra	Managed Telecommunications Services	$1.64B	31 Dec 2026
Department of Defence	Linfox Australia	Warehousing and Distribution Services	$1.57B	18 Dec 2026
Department of Defence	BAE Systems	Military Watercraft Support Services	$1.31B	31 Dec 2026
Department of Defence	Boeing Defence Australia	Airborne Transponder/Interrogator System	$1.21B	31 Dec 2026

Seven contracts of $1B or more make up 61% of the 90-day value. Five of them are outside the US accounts ($9.1B).

The largest, the National Fractionation Agreement for blood plasma products, began in January 2018. The National Blood Authority’s 2026–27 Corporate Plan lists negotiating and implementing a new agreement before the current one expires on 31 December 2026 as a key priority.

A published end date does not always mean a new tender. Many long-running contracts are extended by amendment, and a replacement may already be signed but not yet published.

5. Most contracts ending are small, and many are professional services

86% of the contracts ending in 90 days (8,606) are worth under $1M. Together they are only 3.5% of the value. The median contract is $133,000.
Management and business professional services has the most contracts ending: 3,639, more than a third of the total, worth $3.5B.
By value (without the US accounts) the top categories are vehicles and parts, mostly military ($6.9B), healthcare services ($4.0B), management and business services ($3.5B), engineering and research ($3.0B), and IT and telecommunications ($2.7B).
3,986 supplier groups hold a contract ending in the 90 days. The top 10 hold 52% of the value (without the US accounts).

Bar chart of the top 10 UNSPSC categories by value of contracts ending in the next 90 days, excluding US government accounts. Vehicles (incl. military) and parts $6.9B, 491 contracts; healthcare services $4.0B, 121; management and business services $3.5B, 3,637; engineering and research services $3.0B, 1,192; IT and telecommunications $2.7B, 897; building and facility maintenance $2.2B, 204; transport, storage and mail $1.7B, 214; environmental services $838M, 93; politics and civic affairs services $670M, 435; defence and security services $467M, 107.

Method

Source: AusTender contract notices (Commonwealth only), as collected and held by BidNomy. Data as at 2 November 2026 (latest notice published 30 October 2026). Queries run 8 November 2026.
Expiring in the next 90 days: the contract’s published end date falls between 8 November 2026 and 6 February 2027, inclusive (Sydney dates). The 180-day window runs to 7 May 2027 and the 365-day window to 8 November 2027. Contracts that have already ended are not counted.
Amendments: each contract counts once, at its latest published version and value. A contract varied five times counts once, at the value that stands today. Cancelled notices are left out. Only contracts with a value above $0 are counted.
Value: the total contract value as published (including amendments), not yearly spend and not spend to date.
US government accounts: Defence’s Joint Strike Fighter account (“DMOJSF Official Australian Account”) and Foreign Military Sales account (“FMS Account”), plus other accounts named for the US Government or US cooperative programs. In the 90-day window only the JSF and FMS accounts have contracts. We show figures with and without them.
Suppliers are grouped as one company across their ABNs and name spellings.
Categories are UNSPSC segments as published on AusTender. Agencies are named as published, so the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade appears twice (its Aid Program publishes separately).
End dates are as published. They show when a contract is due to end, not that it will be re-tendered.

Data: BidNomy (bidnomy.com)

Download the data (CSV)

Contracts ending in 90, 180 and 365 days (01_windows.csv)
Contracts ending on 31 December and other days (02_end_date_31_december_90d.csv)
Agencies, next 90 days (03_agencies_90d.csv)
Agencies, next 180 and 365 days (03b_agencies_180d_365d.csv)
Categories (UNSPSC segments), next 90 days (04_categories_90d.csv)
Supplier groups, next 90 days (05_suppliers_90d.csv)
Largest contracts, next 90 days (06_largest_contracts_90d.csv)
Contract size, next 90 days (07_size_and_method_90d.csv)

See the contracts expiring in your own category (in the next 90, 180 or 365 days) and who holds them now, on bidnomy.com. Start with a free trial.