The Consulting Reckoning: Why Australia’s ICT Failures Point to a Deeper Shift
By Erin Clark | Managing Director, TEC Group
Australia has recently faced several high-profile ICT failures that point to a deeper structural issue. The Bureau of Meteorology’s website collapsed during critical weather events, leaving the public without essential information. Earlier this year, a Deloitte report was revealed to have been largely generated by AI, and further revelations only a fortnight ago highlighted just how little human oversight was involved.
These incidents reflect longstanding problems in the way complex technology projects are delivered in this country.
A consulting model built for the 1990s
The traditional consulting model relies on rigid hierarchies, utilisation targets, and documentation-heavy processes. Although the work has changed, the model has not. It rewards scale over quality and titles over genuine competency.
This makes failure far more likely. We see projects escalate from four million dollars to one hundred million, reports delivered without adequate review, burnout across delivery teams, and public services failing precisely when they are needed most.
AI is exposing weaknesses, not creating them
There is a common belief that AI will first disrupt industries like journalism or marketing, yet consulting may be affected much sooner. A large portion of consulting labour is still tied to research, documentation, and structured analysis. These tasks can now be generated instantly by AI.
At TEC Group, we use AI to accelerate requirements development and help teams move more efficiently from needs to requirements to test cases. Our intention is not to automate thinking but to remove administrative friction so human judgment and alignment receive the focus they deserve.
AI is not the cause of the disruption. It is simply shining a light on an outdated model.
The business model needs to shift
Modern organisations need consulting partners who bring practical expertise, not theatre. They need smaller, highly capable teams who work with sleeves rolled up, design for sustainability, and build capability inside the organisation rather than creating long-term dependency.
Competency must matter more than job titles. Transparency must matter more than optics. Delivery must matter more than documentation volume.
This is the direction TEC Group is exploring, although no single organisation can reshape an entire industry on its own.
A national conversation is needed
Reforming consulting requires collective effort. Business Women Australia is uniquely placed to bring together practitioners, executives, and innovators to think differently about the future of project delivery.
In 2026, TEC Group and Business Women Australia will convene a national dialogue on the future of consulting for project-oriented and asset-intensive organisations. The focus will be on designing a more ethical, effective, and future-ready model for the decade ahead.
Australia has an opportunity to rethink consulting before more failures occur. If we focus on competency, transparency, and capability built from within, we can create a consulting model that genuinely supports organisations and the communities they serve.
This moment should not be wasted.
Erin Clark is a Director of TEC Group and a trusted advisor to leaders in complex, asset-heavy, and project-driven organisations. With deep experience across technology, infrastructure, and strategic transformation, Erin helps executives untangle messy systems, fix foundational problems, and make clearer decisions in environments where complexity is business as usual.
Her expertise spans system and organisational design, portfolio and program governance, product thinking, and the practical realities of delivering tech-enabled change in large, multi-layered organisations. Erin brings a straight-talking, anti-consultant approach, cutting through “best practice” theatre, junior-army delivery models, and GenAI-generated reports to focus on what actually works.
A multi-founder, Stories Unseen, Mather Farm, and previously Ignitzee, Erin blends commercial thinking, digital product experience, and a future-of-work mindset to create solutions that are adoptable, pragmatic, and built for the real world. She co-leads TEC Group’s founder-led advisory model, championing new ways of working that prioritise clarity, capability, and meaningful impact over noise and process for process’s sake.
Alongside her advisory work, Erin is deeply involved in Western Australia’s innovation ecosystem, often acting as a bridge between bold ideas and the mature organisations that need them most.
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