| Status |
Mandatory (but use of model clauses is optional) |
|---|---|
| Source |
Workplace Gender Equality Procurement Principles: https://www.wgea.gov.au/what-we-do/compliance-reporting/wgea-procurement-principles |
| Legislation / Policy |
Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012 (Cth) (legislation.gov.au) |
| Legislation / Policy contact | |
| Additional information |
The Workplace Gender Equality Procurement Principles (the Principles) describe the Australian Government’s procurement connected policy associated with the Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012 Cth (WGE Act). This policy came into effect on 1 August 2013.
The Principles apply to procurements with Relevant Employers as defined in Part 10 (Glossary) of the Workplace Gender Equality Procurement Principles and User Guide (User Guide) that are over the relevant threshold outlined in paragraph 3.3 of the CPRs.
The User Guide outlines the steps Commonwealth procurement officials and Relevant Employers must take to comply with the Principles.
Where the Principles apply, employers must supply a letter of compliance with their tender submission or prior to contracting with the Australian Government. These letters of compliance are issued by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency.
The Principles do not require overseas-based suppliers to comply with Australian laws that would otherwise not apply to them, and do not apply to suppliers who do not have a commercial presence in Australia (unless they employ 100 or more staff through employment contracts or subcontracting arrangements in Australia and qualify as a Relevant Employer under the WGE Act).
While meeting the Principles is mandatory, use of the model clauses is optional.
The Principles model clauses are not required when using the Commonwealth Contracting Suite.
The WGEA model clauses are available in Section 8 of this link on the Workplace Gender Equality Agency Website: https://www.finance.gov.au/sites/default/files/2021-12/PMC-WGE-Procurement-Principles.pdf
The applicability of the Principles model clauses will depend primarily on whether the estimated value of the contract is over the procurement threshold, but will also depend on whether Relevant Employers are to be included in the approach to market.
Standardisation of contractual text results in efficiencies for both Parties to a contract. Before deciding whether a particular clause is appropriate, procurement officials should carefully consider the context of their procurement.
Clause wording would generally need to be changed where Commonwealth entities need to adapt the clauses to fit into their contracting templates, but the clause wording must comply with the Principles.
Any terms that are capitalised may need to be changed to align with the Contract terminology.
