Appendix C: Procurement policy environment
9.1 The below is a summary of the relevant thresholds applicable to digital projects.
| Value | Requirement | Source | Target | Reporting obligations |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $0 | Invoices are to be paid within 20 days or 5 days if Pan-European Public Procurement On-Line (PEPPOL) enabled | Supplier Pay On-Time or Pay Interest Policy (RMG 417) | All invoices | Not applicable, however, interest is automatically payable by Non-corporate Commonwealth entities if payments terms are not met (interest is optionally paid by Corporate Commonwealth Entities) |
| $10k | Contracts to be published within 42 days of arrangement being entered | CPRs Procurement Publishing and Reporting Obligations (RMG 423) | All contracts | Report on AusTender after contract signature |
| $80k | Tenders must be put out to open market on AusTender | CPRs | All procurements | All procurements which exceed threshold, where there is no exemption |
| Completion of the Fair Criteria Checklist | Digital Sourcing Fair Criteria Policy | All procurements | Not applicable | |
| Completion of the Consider First Assessment Tool | Digital Sourcing Consider First Policy | All procurements | Not applicable | |
| Suppliers must provide a Certificate of Compliance with the Workplace Gender Equality Act | Workplace Gender Equality Procurement Principles | All procurements | All procurements which exceed threshold, where there is no exemption | |
| $80 to 200k | Mandatory Set Aside requiring Indigenous enterprises be engaged first on procurement opportunity | Indigenous Procurement Policy | All contracts | Portfolios report to NIAA via IPP Reporting System every six months against Mandatory Set Aside targets. |
| $1m | Sellers to provide Supplier Environmental Sustainability Plans for ICT goods | Environmentally Sustainable Procurement Policy | All contracts | Six monthly reporting by suppliers to the Agency, including for sub-contractors |
| ICT contracts need to consider economic benefit to Australia | CPRs | All procurements | All procurements which exceed threshold, where there is no exemption | |
| $2m | Consultancy contract reporting | Meeting the Senate Order for Consulting Services (RMG 406) | All contracts over threshold | Report on AusTender after contract signature |
| $4m | Statement of Tax Record must be submitted as part of any Open Tender response and be maintained throughout the contract | Shadow Economy – increasing the integrity of government procurement | All procurements | STR is provided by the supplier to the agency prior to completion of tender evaluation, then upon request thereafter |
| Payment Times contractual clauses to be included requiring suppliers to pay sub-contractors up to $1m (GST inc) within 20 calendar days or pay interest | Payment Times Procurement Connected Policy | All contracts | Not applicable, however, complaints mechanism is applicable for breaches of this policy or the contractual clauses | |
| $7.5m | Indigenous Procurement Plan required, including Mandatory Minimum Requirements for contracts / panels to be awarded to Indigenous enterprises where contracts are wholly delivered in Australia | Indigenous Procurement Policy | 2.25% at 2024-25 of contract value, increasing to a maximum of 3% by 2027-28 3% of the volume of contracts | Supplier needs to report quarterly to the NIAA on achieving the IPP via the IPP Reporting System to Agency Portfolios report to NIAA every six months if not on AusTender or registered with Supply Nation or ORIC. |
| $10m | Skills guarantee requires targets for ICT projects for gender equality, apprentices and cadets to be set | Australian Skills Guarantee Procurement Connected Policy | All contracts | Quarterly reporting by suppliers to the Agency against the targets, including for sub-contractors Agencies need to report every 6-months to DEWR on progress |
| ICT Investment Approval Process requires first and second pass business case submission for Government approval | Investment Oversight Framework | All proposed investments with digital spends in excess of $10m | Upon approval, agencies need to comply with both ongoing delivery oversight (e.g. assurance) and Department of Finance Gateway Reviews. | |
| $20m | Australian Industry Participation Plan required | Commonwealth Australian Industry Participation (CAIP) plans for Government Procurement | Not applicable as discretion for requiring CAIP Plan is with buying agency | Supplier provides an Implementation Report to agency, generally within 14 months of contract execution or final close |
| Australian Industry Capability Plans | Australian Industry Capability Plans | Mandatory for all new contracts | Tenderers must describe how their proposed approach will enhance defence industry capability and capacity | |
| $100m | Digital contracts cannot exceed $100m in value, unless an exemption has been granted | Digital Sourcing Contract Limits and Reviews Policy | All contracts, unless exemption applies | Not applicable, however, contract values are reported on AusTender |
| Modern Slavery Reporting by suppliers with $100m+ revenues. | Modern Slavery Act 2018 | All businesses over the threshold | Annual Compliance Statement reported by supplier to the Attorney-General's Department |