Glossary

Annual Procurement Plan (APP) – a planning tool through which agencies provide a short summary of the strategic procurement outlook for the coming year and information on specific procurements they plan to undertake. APPs are published on AusTender before 1 July each year.

Approach to the market – any notice inviting potential suppliers to participate in a procurement. This may include a request for tender, request for expression of interest, or request for application for inclusion on a multi-use list.

Australian Government – this guide relates to the procurement activities of the Australian Government; it does not relate to the activities of State, Territory or local government bodies.

CAC Act – the Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Act 1997. Bodies subject to section 47A of the CAC Act are included in references to ‘agencies’ for the purposes of this guide.
Commonwealth Procurement Guidelines (the Guidelines) – the principal policy document that sets out the framework governing Australian Government procurement activity. The Guidelines are available at www.finance.gov.au under the Procurement menu, along with a range of other policy guidance material and related information.

Conditions for participation – the minimum conditions you must meet to participate in a procurement process or for your submission to be considered.

Covered procurement – a procurement, other than one that is specifically exempt, where the value of the property or services being procured exceeds the specified financial thresholds in the Guidelines. Covered procurements must comply with the mandatory procurement procedures.

Deadline for submissions – the precise time and date by which submissions must be received.

Direct sourcing – a procurement process, available only under certain defined circumstances, in which an agency may contact a single potential supplier or suppliers of its choice and for which only a limited set of mandatory procurement procedures apply.

Evaluation criteria – the criteria used to evaluate the compliance and/or relative ranking of tender responses. All evaluation criteria must be clearly stated in the request documentation.

Expression of interest – a response to an open approach to the market requesting submissions from businesses interested in participating in a procurement. The list of potential suppliers who have submitted expressions of interest may be used as the basis for conducting a select tender process.

FMA Act – the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997. All agencies governed by the FMA Act are included in references to ‘agencies’ for the purposes of this guide.

Mandatory procurement procedures – a set of procedures, outlined in Division 2 of the Guidelines, which must be followed by agencies conducting a procurement valued over the thresholds specified in the Guidelines.

Multi-use list – a list, intended for use in more than one procurement process, of prequalified businesses who have satisfied the conditions for participation for inclusion on the list.

Open tender process – a procurement procedure where a request for tender is published inviting all businesses that satisfy the conditions for participation to submit tenders.

Panel – an arrangement under which a number of suppliers may each supply agreed property or services to an agency for a set period of operation and as specified in the panel arrangements.

Request for applications for a multi-use list – a published notice inviting businesses to apply for inclusion on a multi-use list. The notice must be published on AusTender, either continuously or at least once per year.

Request for expressions of interest – a published notice inviting businesses to register an expression of interest in a procurement.

Request for tender – a published notice inviting businesses who satisfy the conditions for participation to submit a tender in accordance with requirements of the request for tender and other request documentation.

Select tender process – a procurement procedure in which the procuring agency invites specific potential suppliers to submit tenders. For procurements with a value greater than the relevant specified threshold, a select tender process may only be conducted in accordance with certain procedures and circumstances set out in Division 2 of
the Guidelines.

SME – small and medium enterprises, defined for the purposes of the Guidelines as an Australian or New Zealand firm with fewer than 200 full time equivalent employees.

Standing offer – often referred to as deeds of standing offer, these arrangements set out the terms and conditions, including indicative pricing, under which a supplier agrees to supply specified goods or services to an agency for a specified period.

Thresholds – the value above which a procurement, unless exempt, is subject to the mandatory procurement procedures. The procurement threshold for all non-construction services procurements is $80 000 for FMA Act agencies and $400 000 for CAC Act agencies, rising to $9 million in both cases for procurements of construction services.