Section 1: Context
The suitability assessment framework aims to have a targeted scope. Other actions remaining from the review may be implemented consecutively over time, following the publication of the suitability assessment framework.
Contracting mechanisms
The review identified opportunities to better understand the future technology needs of entities to improve use of the government’s buying power in negotiations.
Building on this, the DTA is considering options to aggregate the government’s buying power, noting that CCAs are not the only mechanism available and others could be appropriate subject to the scale of procurement needs.
- Coordinated procurements (part of the DTA’s existing role) — The DTA negotiates a contracting framework on behalf of the Australian Government. A non-corporate Commonwealth entity buyer which selects a CCA seller as their preferred supplier following a procurement process, including a value-for-money assessment, must use this contracting framework.
- Cooperative procurements (potential expansion of the DTA’s role) — Leveraging its unique position to draw insights across government ICT investments, the DTA could assist to identify opportunities for agencies to voluntarily join up their efforts for greater efficiency, provided they have similar procurement needs. These agencies would then approach the market collectively, with the option for a Request for Information (RFI) to help themselves to clearly understand and describe their procurement requirements, ahead of requesting responses to evaluation criteria.
- BuyICT platform administration (potential expansion of the DTA’s role) — The DTA could consider additional measures to improve competition between sellers. For example, creating a mechanism for buyers to filter the Seller Catalogue based on global, local, or exclusive-to-BuyICT discounts and/or promotions from sellers, including products and services which are ‘on sale’.
While the suitability assessment framework primarily focuses on eligibility for CCAs, the DTA may also use it to consider if a CCA is the most appropriate mechanism (contrasted with cooperative procurements) which may include consideration of the strategic partnership elements and other benefits from leveraging the Australian Government’s buying power.
Buyer-seller relationships
The review found that genuine strategic partnerships do not exist with all sellers. Where a seller does not prioritise or directly contribute to the needs of the Australian Government, the relationship is essentially commercial and transactional, rather than strategic.
Subject to the CPRs, the DTA is considering how value-for-money outcomes could apply differently for strategic partnerships (which would align with broader government objectives while having an acceptable cost), contrasted with commercial relationships (where the cost would be lower, while still seeking policy alignment where required).
Renaming SSAs
The review recommended renaming ‘Single Seller Arrangements’ (SSAs) to reflect the reality of the use of the SSAs as a contracting framework.
The DTA is in the process of renaming SSAs to ‘Coordinated Contracting Arrangements’ (CCAs) across several websites, which aims to align with language used in paragraphs 4.11 to 4.12 of the CPRs and the Department of Finance guidance on coordinated procurement arrangements.