Public agencies in Australia can use a broad range of approaches.

Consistent with the underlying principles referred to above, Australian governments will generally be required to procure goods and services by way of competitive tendering processes for procurements over a certain price threshold. Even below the threshold, there may be requirements to “go to market” in an attempt to ascertain the best value for money for the proposed procurement.

Generally, one of the following different forms of procurement will be adopted:

• Competitive procurement – this can be open so that any supplier can bid or a closed or select procurement where a prequalification process results in a limited set of suppliers being invited to bid. The prequalification process might be conducted through an earlier open tender, expression of interest or request for proposal process.
• Sole/direct source – sole sourcing arrangements may be permitted in limited cases but are generally subject to additional rules.
• Period arrangements – period contracts are established to enable agencies to purchase pre-qualified products. Period contracts operate as a standing offer by a supplier to supply specified product to a defined customer group at a pre-agreed cost for a given period. Agencies can source the products offered without the requirement for a tender each time. These types of arrangements are generally established by an initial competitive tender to appoint one or more suppliers to a panel to supply the identified products.

State and territory jurisdictions are beginning to introduce rules governing (and encouraging) unsolicited proposals from the private sector. These rules generally provide that an agency will, in its absolute discretion, consider such a proposal if it establishes unique elements (e.g. intellectual property, ownership of subject real property, unique financial arrangements, unique ability to deliver a strategic outcome) that justify direct negotiations.

The CPRs require that that each agency publish the agency’s annual procurement plan containing details about planned approaches to market on the AusTender website by 1 July each year.

Details about awarded and amended contracts are also required to be published on AusTender if the contract is valued at or over the reporting threshold, which is A$10,000 for non-corporate Commonwealth entities. For prescribed federal entities bound by the CPRs, the reporting threshold is A$400,000 for procurements other than procurement of construction services, or A$7.5 million for procurement of construction services.

State and territory government also maintain public websites where procurement opportunities must be advertised.

At the federal level, calls for tender are published on the AusTender website at https://www.tenders.gov.au/.

Bidders can be excluded from the competition where a government agency is permitted to undertake a select approach to market or sole/direct sourcing.

For example, as noted above, the government may conduct a tender to establish a period contract panel of suppliers for certain supplies and permit government agencies to procure from those suppliers without needing to go to market. Prospective bidders not on the panel have to wait to seek inclusion on the panel until the panel expires and is re-tendered or opened up for new panel members. Select tendering can also be permitted in certain circumstances (e.g., when the agency has made enquiries about suitable prospective suppliers) (see Section 4(a) on sole/direct sourcing).

Prospective bidders can be excluded from the competition through the use of conditions for participation. For example, procurement terms will usually require bidders to demonstrate their ability to participate in a procurement. Conditions can require a potential supplier to demonstrate it has the legal, commercial, technical and financial abilities to fulfil the requirements of the procurement. Additionally, procurement frameworks will often enable government agencies to exclude potential suppliers on grounds such as bankruptcy, insolvency, false declarations or significant deficiencies in performance of any substantive requirement or obligation under a prior contract.

A bidder might also be excluded if the bidder has failed to comply with a mandatory procurement policy requirement. At the federal level, such policies include:

• the Australian Industry Participation ("AIP") National Framework, which applies to major Commonwealth government procurements (generally above A$20 million), tenderers for certain Commonwealth procurements are required to prepare and implement an AIP Plan; and
• the Workplace Gender Equality Procurement Principles and User Guide require government agencies to obtain a letter of compliance from certain tenderers (employers with 100 or more employees) that indicates compliance with their obligations under the Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012 (Cth).