Based on information from AusTender, analysis from research and consulting firm Intermedium showed that 78 federal government agencies reported just over 24,000 ICT contracts, up from 73 agencies last financial year.

Intermedium said this was largely due to the impact of the Free Trade Agreement.

The firm's director Judy Hurditch said the 78 agencies listed account for most of the federal government ICT contracting activity.

"The data is a window into new business won in 2004-2005, and so provides valuable market intelligence, particularly for suppliers interested in how they are performing relative to their competitors," she said.

Intermedium extracted the 2004-05 contract data from AusTender on September 30.