| (1) | This Instruction applies only to the procurement of building and construction and roads and bridges and is to be read in conjunction with Instructions 1201 to 1229.
Further information, including a definition of "building and construction" and "roads and bridges" and information on the types of services that fall under these categories is located in the Buying for Government section of www.purchasing.tas.gov.au.
Refer to Instructions 1101 to 1124 for information in relation to procurement of goods and non-construction related services. |
| ADVERTISEMENT |
| (2) | Tenders for major works for building and construction must be publicly advertised unless the Secretary, or an authorised delegate of the Department of Treasury and Finance, approves an exemption under Instruction 1217 enabling an agency to seek offers from a limited number of suppliers. |
| (3) | All agencies must, at minimum, place advertisements for tenders in the Saturday edition of either the Mercury, the Examiner or the Advocate and on the Tenders section of www.purchasing.tas.gov.au.
To ensure that the appropriate target audience is reached, where appropriate, a tender advertisement should be placed in more than one of the local newspapers. |
| (4) | Each individual tender advertisement must include the following as the minimum: |
 | (a) | name and address of agency including contact details; |
| (b) | a description of the procurement and any conditions for participation; |
| (c) | short title of tender: describing the type of work and geographic location; |
| (d) | name of contract and unique ID; |
| (e) | pre-qualification requirements: work category, financial range (threshold) and quality assurance, if required; |
| Where an agency becomes aware that a contractor may submit a bid for a tender in which the contractor is either not pre-qualified in the appropriate category or not to the required threshold, the agency should direct the contractor to the “Application for Registration as an Approved Contractor”, located in the Winning Government Business section of www.purchasing.tas.gov.au, under Resource Library, Forms. |
| (f) | closing of tenders: time and date and address for lodgement of tenders; |
| Refer to the information below on the appropriate tender periods and closing requirements. |
| (g) | source of tender documents, stating place, telephone number and office hours where tender documents are available; |
| (h) | the timeframe for delivery (estimated contract period); and |
| (i) | any other relevant information, depending on the nature of the tender or expression of interest. |
| Where the provisions of the Australia - United States Free Trade Agreement (AUSFTA) apply, the time limit for submission of applications for pre-registration or pre-qualification must also be included in the advertisement. Refer to the Australia - United States Free Trade Agreement Guidelines for further information.
An agency may supply the tender documentation to a contractor, where that contractor is not yet pre-qualified or is not pre-qualified to the required threshold or category. However, the appropriate pre-qualification must be in place prior to the closing of the tender to enable any submission to be evaluated. Where pre-qualification levels are not appropriately met prior to the closing of the tender, a submission cannot be evaluated as the tenderer will not have met the conditions for participation. |
| TENDER PERIOD |
| (5) | All major works tenders for both building and construction and roads and bridges must be open for a minimum of 2 ½ weeks (18 days) advertising time when the projects is valued at less than $1 million and 3 ½ weeks (25 days) for projects valued at $1 million and over. |
| (6) | A tender: |
| (a) | must not close earlier than 2.00pm; |
| (b) | must not close on a Monday or a day immediately following a public holiday; |
| (c) | must close at least one week after the recognised industry Christmas close-down. |
| It is usual practice to close tenders on a Wednesday at 2.00pm where possible, after taking the above factors into account. |
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| (7) | If addenda is required to be issued, agencies must ensure that: |
| (a) | one copy of every addendum is included in the Signing Copy of the tender documents; |
| (b) | one copy of every addendum is included in each set of tender documents not yet issued; and |
| (c) | one copy of every addendum is forwarded by email notification of an addendum placed on the Tenders website, fax or courier to each of the prospective tenderers that have previously obtained tender documents. |
| As a general rule, an addendum is not to be issued when less than five working days remain to tender closing date. Where an addendum is to be issued, the need for an extension of the tender closing date is to be considered and granted when less than five working days remain to tender closing date. In a Design and Construct contract, 3 or 4 weeks may be the appropriate period of time for notification to tenderers.
Each addendum for a particular work is to be consecutively numbered and precisely define and describe the alterations, additions or deletions required, with reference to the appropriate elements in the tender documents.
Where addenda are to be issued for tender documents which include a Schedule of Rates, the addenda are also to detail the necessary quantity or description changes. A supplementary Schedule of Rates may also be necessary. |
| (8) | Each addendum must state that the addendum will be incorporated in the tender documents and tenderers must be required to confirm receipt, in writing, of the addendum and that allowance has been made for each addendum. The receipt is to be included with the tender. |
| RECEIVING AND OPENING TENDERS |
| (9) | Fair and impartial procedures must be in place in relation to receiving and opening all tenders. |
| (10) | Tenders must be received before the time and date shown on the Form of Tender. |
| (11) | A secure facility for receipt of tenders must be provided at each designated lodgement location. The tender documentation relating to any particular tender is not to be opened until the time set for the closing of tenders has elapsed.
Facsimile machines may be used to receive tenders if the confidentiality of the tender can be guaranteed. Further information on facsimile receipt is available on the Buying for Government section of www.purchasing.tas.gov.au. |
| (12) | The tender box shall be closed for tenders at the exact time for closing of tenders.
It is recommended that tenders should be: |
| | - opened in the presence of a minimum of three officers, including at least two senior officers of the agency; and
- clearly identified and recorded. |
| (13) | Where an agency provides potential suppliers with opportunities to correct unintentional errors of form between the opening of submissions and any decision, the agency must provide the same opportunity to all participating potential suppliers. |
| LATE TENDERS |
| (14) | Where a tender is not impacted by the Australia - United States Free Trade Agreement (AUSFTA) threshold for building and construction, late tenders must not be accepted unless: |
| (a) | circumstances beyond the tenderer’s control were the cause of the lateness; and |
| (b) | accepting a late tender will not compromise the integrity of the tendering process or provide any unfair advantage to the tenderer lodging the late tender. |
| (15) | Where a tender is impacted by the AUSFTA an agency must not accept late tenders unless the delay is due solely to mishandling by the agency. |
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CONFIDENTIALITY IN THE PROCUREMENT PROCESS AND IN RELATION TO CONTRACTS
Agencies should refer to Instructions 1229 and 1401. |
