Procurement, tenders and contracts

We procure various goods and services from the market, managing these activities in accordance with the Commonwealth Procurement Rules (CPRs).

Through various procurement processes, we seek to:

• obtain value for money
• encourage competition
• use resources efficiently, effectively, ethically and economically
• make clear, accountable decisions, and
• monitor, regulate and evaluate the goods or service we receive.

Process for tenders

We publish all tenders on AusTender, which is the Australian Government’s procurement information system. All our tenders are administered in line with the Government’s procurement policy framework.

Public Interest Certificates

A public interest certificate (PIC) is a document issued by the Agency Board, as the accountable authority, in accordance with section 22 of the Government Procurement (Judicial Review) Act 2018 (the Act).

A PIC will state that it is not in the public interest for a particular procurement process to be suspended while applications for injunctions are being considered, or complaints are being investigated, under the Act.

Current PICs issued by us are in the table below:

 

Methods of notification of the issue of a PIC

In addition to the table above, the issuance of a PIC will be notified to suppliers in the following manner:

1. If the PIC is issued before the Approach to Market (ATM) documentation is released, a copy of the PIC will be provided with the request documentation.
2. If the PIC is issued while the ATM is open, suppliers will be notified through an addendum or similar that a PIC has been issued. A copy of the PIC will be provided with the addendum or similar method.
3. If the PIC is issued after the ATM has closed, potential suppliers that submitted a response will be notified and issued with a copy of the PIC.

Annual Procurement Plan

Annual Procurement Plans are published on AusTender.

Contract reporting

All awarded procurement contracts with a value greater than $80,000 are published on AusTender.

Making a complaint

All procurement complaints will be handled fairly, without discrimination and as efficiently as possible. There are two types of procurement complaints:

• a complaint made under section 18 of the Government Procurement (Judicial Review) (GP(JR)) Act 2018 (a 'GPJR Act Complaint'); and
• a complaint regarding something that we propose to do, or have done, during a procurement process, that does not satisfy the requirements for a GPJR Act Complaint (a 'General CPRs Procurement Complaint').

How to lodge a complaint

If you wish to make a GPJR Act Complaint, or General CPRs Procurement Complaint, about a procurement process conducted by us, you should complete the Procurement Complaint Form (PDF, 177.08 KB), and lodge it in writing via email or pre-paid post to the addresses specified below.

 

Process for handling a complaint

Once a complaint has been received, we will:

• promptly confirm in writing (email or post) that we have received your complaint, and
• provide further detail in relation to next steps in the complaint process.

Please refer to the Procurement Complaints Handling Policy (PDF, 324.27 KB) for details.