Section 2: Commercial relationships
The DTA is seeking to understand variables to inform the assessment of eligibility for the commercial relationship elements of CCAs. The following section unpacks two key elements:
- Volume sourcing viability (including minimum spend and usage, and seller flexibility to meet buyer requirements).
- Aligned terms and conditions.
Volume sourcing viability (including minimum spend and usage, and seller flexibility to meet buyer requirements)
CCAs are generally only viable where there is significant, sustained contract volume across multiple agency buyers, as they are resource-intensive to establish and maintain and sellers have, historically, relied on aggregate whole-of-government demand to deliver greater value, including discounts, to buyers.
As part of determining volume sourcing viability, the DTA may consider historical contract notices. However, some categories would need to be excluded. For example, labour hire or consultancies (and related services) are outside scope of possible CCAs. In addition, in determining volumes, the DTA is considering a transition period for historical federal government ICT‑related contracts reported on AusTender to initially be within scope, prior to narrowing the scope down to contracts on the BuyICT platform exclusively.
Aligned terms and conditions
Aligned terms and conditions help reduce the risk of failure for government buyers to align with government policy. The DTA is considering whether, unless the government’s preferred terms and conditions are adopted without amendment, differences would need to be clearly stated to provide transparency and help buyers to understand the extent to which there are inconsistencies between a CCA contracting framework and the default contract templates that sellers accept before joining a marketplace on BuyICT. The government’s terms and conditions are not limited to the equivalent of an end-user licence agreement (EULA).
The Australian Government Architecture helps to increase understanding of the federal government’s digital landscape. CCA sellers may be asked to treat the Australian Government as a single buyer, which includes combining the values of contracts with aggregated spending. Some requirements and planned policies are listed below.
- Commonwealth Supplier Code of Conduct
- Statement of Tax Record
- Digital Seller Underperformance Policy
- Supplier Pay On-Time or Pay Interest Policy
- Modern Slavery Statement
- Cybersecurity policies (such as the Protective Security Policy Framework and Information Security Manual) and if applicable, the Hosting Certification Framework and IRAP (Infosec Registered Assessors Program) assessments
- Procurement Connected Policies: