| (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. |
| ANNUAL REPORTS |
| (2) | Agencies must include procurement information in their Annual Report in accordance with this Instruction. |
| (3) | The report to be prepared by each Head of Agency pursuant to section 27 of the Financial Management and Audit Act for inclusion in the Annual Report, shall, in addition to any other information required by the appropriate Minister, Instructions 201 or 1111 or any other written law, contain: |
 | (a) | a narrative statement in the Introduction/Overview by the Head of Agency regarding the Agency's support for local business, cross-referenced to summary and detailed contract and procurement process information provided in accordance with paragraphs (3)(b)(i) and (3)(b)(ii); |
| (b) | (i) | a table summarising the level of participation by local businesses with regard to all contracts and procurement processes with a value of $50 000 or over (excluding GST), including: |
| | | (A) | total number of contracts awarded; |
| | | (B) | total number of contracts awarded to Tasmanian suppliers; |
| | | (C) | total value of contracts awarded; |
| | | (D) | total value of contracts awarded to Tasmanian suppliers; |
| | | (E) | total number of tenders called and written quotation processes run; |
| | | (F) | total number of bids and/or written quotations received; and |
| | | (G) | total number of bids and/or written quotations received from Tasmanian businesses. |
| | (ii) | detailed information on contracts, including consultancy contracts, as follows: |
| | | (A) | for all contracts (other than consultancy contracts) with a value of $50 000 or over (excluding GST): |
| | | | (a) | the name of the contractor; |
| | | | (b) | the location of the contractor (eg town/state - include country if the contract was awarded internationally); |
| | | | (c) | a description of the contract; |
| | | | (d) | the period of the contract; and |
| | | | (e) | the total value of the contract for the period of the contract. |
| | | (B) | for individual consultancy contracts with a value of $50 000 or over (excluding GST): |
| | | | (a) | the name of the consultant; |
| | | | (b) | the location of the consultant (eg town/state - include country where the contract was awarded internationally); |
| | | | (c) | a description of the contract; |
| | | | (d) | the period of the contract; and |
| | | | (e) | the total value of the contract for the period of the contract. |
| Information is required for all contracts awarded, and procurement processes undertaken with a value of $50 000 or more (excluding GST) during the financial year. This includes all contracts and procurement processes for building and construction projects, as well as for goods and services, including consultancies. For the purpose of this Instruction, ‘procurement processes’ includes open tenders, selective tenders and quotation processes run by an agency.
A ‘contractor’ is an individual or organisation engaged under a contract (other than as an employee) to provide goods and/or services to an agency. A contractor will usually work under the supervision of an agency manager.
A 'consultant' is a particular type of contractor who is engaged to provide recommendations or specialist or professional advice (or more generally non-manual services) to assist or influence agency decision making. A consultant is normally expected to work without direct supervision, to exercise his or her own judgement, conduct complex research or investigations and provide advice or recommendations that form the basis for agency decision making or the taking of a certain course of action. A consultant is usually engaged by way of a short term or temporary contract.
For the purpose of this TI, a 'consultant' includes consultants commissioned for building and construction works. A consultant in this instance is an individual or organisation engaged temporarily to give advice or provide a professional, technical or general management service in relation to any building and construction or roads and bridges work matter.
A 'contract' is a legally binding arrangement between an agency and a supplier for the supply of goods and/or services (including building and construction projects, and consultancies) for a specific period. 'Common use contracts' will be reported by the commissioning agency (ie Treasury).
A 'tender' is an invitation to suppliers to bid on a clearly specified statement of requirements. A 'tender' includes a request for tender, expression of interest, request for proposal and request for information.
A ‘quotation’ is the bid submitted in response to a request for quotation.
A ‘quotation process’ is the process of inviting suppliers to provide a quotation/s for the supply of a particular good or service, the evaluation of quotations received and the selection of the successful business.
For the purposes of this Instruction, the ‘period’ of a contract or a consultancy includes the period of any options to extend, regardless of whether the options are exercised or not.
For the purposes of this Instruction, the ‘value’ of a contract or a consultancy includes the value of any option to extend, regardless of whether the options are exercised or not. An option is to be valued in accordance with the terms of the contract. Where the value of the option cannot be exactly calculated, an estimate will suffice. The value excludes GST.
The following paragraph is an example of a statement of support by a Head of Agency for local business. Note that where no tenders were called, quotation processes run or contracts awarded, with a value of $50 000 or over (excluding GST), this should be noted in the statement.
"The Department of .................... ensures that Tasmanian businesses are given every opportunity to compete for Agency business. It is the Department's policy to support Tasmanian businesses whenever they offer best value for money for the Government. See Table ... for a summary of the level of participation by local businesses for contracts, tenders and/or quotations with a value of $50 000 or over (excluding GST). Tables ... and ... provide detailed information on consultancies and other contracts with a value of $50 000 or over (excluding GST)."
Following is an example of a table summarising the level of participation by local businesses with regard to contracts, tenders and/or quotation processes with a value of $50 000 or over (excluding GST):
Following is an example of a table providing detailed information on contracts (other than consultancy contracts) with a value of $50 000 or over (excluding GST):
Following is an example of a table providing information on individual consultancy contracts with a value of $50 000 or over (excluding GST):
 |
| DISCLOSURE– REQUEST FOR TENDER/QUOTATION |
| (4) | Agencies must ensure, by including provisions in the Conditions of Tender/Quotation, that general disclosure rights are reserved for the Crown, to enable the public disclosure of relevant contract details.
For equivalent wording see the Conditions of Tender, Crown Solicitor's proforma RFT: Building and Construction. |
| DISCLOSURE– ALL CONTRACTS AWARDED BY AN AGENCY VALUED AT $50 000 OR MORE (EXCLUDING GST) |
| (5) | Agencies must ensure by including provisions in the Conditions of Contract, that general disclosure rights are reserved for the Crown, to enable the public disclosure of relevant contract details.
For equivalent wording see the Conditions of Contract, Crown Solicitor's proforma RFT: Building and Construction. |
|
DISCLOSURE - CONTRACTS VALUED AT OVER $2 MILLION
| The following requirement applies to any contract arising from a procurement valued at over $2 million, where the procurement commenced on or after 15 February 2007. The commencement of a procurement is the date that a Request for Tender/Quotation, Expression of Interest or Request for Proposal is issued. |
| (6) | All contracts arising from a procurement valued at over $2 million are to be made publicly available on the 'Contracts Awarded' section of the Tenders Web site.
When determining whether a procurement is valued at more than $2 million, the value of all potential extensions is to be taken into account. If a procurement valued at more than $2 million results in multiple contracts being awarded, all contracts, regardless of value, must be published. GST should not be taken into consideration when determining the value.
The contract(s) should be uploaded in either Word (.doc) or PDF (.pdf) format. The date of execution and the names of the executing parties should be typed into the relevant sections of the contract before publishing. For example:
Executing parties [signed D. W. Challen]
Date of execution [15 February 2007]
For contracts containing confidential provisions as a result of an exemption granted under Instruction 1401(4), the exempted provisions are to be removed from the document before it is published on the Web site. The date when the exempted provisions will be available is to be inserted in place of the removed provisons. For example:
Confidential until [..........................am/pm on ..................200.....]
Given server size constraints, a maximum file size limit has been set at 10MB in total. |
| (7) | If publishing a copy of the contract on the Tenders Web site is not practicable, contact details for an officer able to provide access to the relevant documents on request must be placed in the 'Contract Documents' field of the 'Contracts Awarded' section of the Tenders Web site.
This may occur when the contract documentation contains large diagrams or plans etc. Agencies may provide copies of documents or access to physical inspection of the documents at the Agency's offices as considered appropriate. A fee is to be charged for access to or copies of documents on a full cost recovery basis. Further information on fees and charges is available in the Treasury publication, Costing Fees and Charges - Guidelines for Use by Agencies, located on the Treasury Web site (www.treasury.tas.gov.au) under Publications.
For contracts containing confidential provisions as a result of an exemption granted under Instruction 1401(4), the exempted provisions are to be removed from the document before access is provided. The date when the exempted provisions will be available, is to be inserted in place of the removed provisions. |
| (8) | The above documents must be made available on the Tenders Web site, or contact details provided where appropriate, within 10 days of the award of the contract. |
|
|
| FREEDOM OF INFORMATION |
| (9) | Information relevant to a tender and any awarded contract must also be disclosed when required by law. |
