April 2023

Assessing change

With new federal inquiry underway Consult Australia is asking small business members to share their experiences of Commonwealth procurement and projects. How can you share your views?

The Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman is conducting an inquiry to assess whether changes made to the Commonwealth procurement rules in July 2022 have achieved its goals.

The reforms aimed to expand growth opportunities for small business, encourage entrepreneurship, increase competition, strengthen sovereign capability and maximise value for money for taxpayers.

Consult Australia supported the changes which were outlined in our 2022-23 Federal Budget Summary and included the following elements:

Direct procurement by Commonwealth agencies from small and medium businesses for contracts up to $200,000
Greater use of whole-of-government panels to reduce the costs of tendering
Officials required to consider disaggregating larger projects into smaller work packages to encourage greater participation by more businesses, regardless of their size
Agencies to limit the extent of pre-contract insurance and liability requirements, to reflect sufficient risk sharing while not imposing unreasonable or disproportionate risk transfer that unduly restricts the number of suppliers who can bid
Extension of the government’s pay on-time commitment to all suppliers, regardless of contract value
The Department of Defence to undertake limited tenders with small and medium businesses for procurements up to $500,000.

To inform Consult Australia’s submission to the Ombudsman’s inquiry we are keen to hear from members. Please let us know:

Have you noticed any change in access to government projects.
Have you seen a reduction in the insurance and liability requirements at pre-tender? If so, had this helped or do onerous obligations get imposed later?
Have you seen any movement on whole-of-government panels? If so, has this streamlined the process or not?

Kristy Eulenstein, Consult Australia’s Head of Policy and Government Relations, is pleased to see the federal government’s “ambition”.

While most Consult Australia members work on local, state and territory government projects, rather than direct to Commonwealth agencies, the federal government could be “ “a powerful example for other governments,” she says.

Consult Australia continues to champion consistency in government contracting, including “ sensible aggregate liability caps, guarantees of proportionate liability and a fair balance of rights and obligations between the parties,” Kristy adds.

The Consult Australia Contract Suite has been developed to guide the engagement of professional services and is available to consultants of various sizes and disciplines across a range of projects .

If you have a view on Commonwealth Procurement Rules and the 2022 reforms, the team is keen to hear from you. Download the Inquiry terms of reference or contact Kristy Eulenstein directly at kristy@consultaustralia.com.au.

Share on