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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
Business
Melissa Davey and Henry Belot

PwC-backed mental health platform was scrapped after $33m government trial launched without open tender

The PwC logo on a building
Financial records show PwC is one of the largest shareholders in the startup. The department of health says PwC declared its relationship to Innowell for the Project Synergy trials. Photograph: Wolfgang Rattay/Reuters

A PwC-backed startup received tens of millions of taxpayer dollars through a closed, non-competitive grant to develop a digital mental health platform, which was scrapped due to health workers finding it an administrative burden.

Policy experts and transparency watchdogs have raised alarm about the grant and called on the federal government to explain why the money was not allocated through an open and competitive process to ensure value for money.

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