The growth of ethical supply
Ensuring government only does business with ethical suppliers requires substantial policy, procurement and compliance across the whole of government.
A staged approach has seen the imposition of the Ethical Supply Threshold (the Threshold) and Ethical Supplier Mandate (the Mandate) to the two main construction categories (buildings and roads/highways) This was followed by enhancements to the compliance investigative tools and resources and then the expansion to Statutory Bodies from 1 February 2022 and Government-Owned Corporations (subject to final approach and implementation date).
The next step was the establishment of the Tripartite Procurement Advisory Panel – an independent expert advisory body of penalties for breaches of the Threshold and Mandate. In this edition, we celebrate its establishment. It will commence hearing matters in the coming weeks.
And now the Compliance Branch is focused on two major projects:
a. developing a two-day training course for whole-of-government to build tendering, contracting and investigative skills focused on the Mandate and Threshold. This will assist government buyers in moving from a focus largely on capability and price – to review ethical behaviour as a key component. The course is expected to starting rolling out in November; and
b. investigating the expansion of the Mandate to all categories of procurement. This has involved extensive consultation with the four remaining categories – Medical; Information, Communication and Technology; Social Services; and General Goods and Services to see how the Mandate can be adapted to suit their specific needs. There are some important differences to the construction industry. New areas will come into focus such as meeting environmental standards, having a good record on anti-modern slavery, anti-discrimination, corporate and financial governance.
The end result will be a nation-leading overhaul of procurement that puts the entire ethical record of suppliers front and centre in decisions that award billions of dollars in government contracts – thus looking after the workers, the environment, the clients of government and doing the right thing with taxpayer dollars.
Chris Perkins
Executive Director
Queensland Government Procurement – Compliance
Department of Energy and Public Works
Welcome to the Tripartite Procurement Advisory Panel
The Honourable Mick de Brenni MP Minister for Energy, Renewables and Hydrogen and Minister for Public Works and Procurement welcomed the newly formed Tripartite Procurement Advisory Panel (the Panel) at a reception for Panel members at 1 William Street, Brisbane, Thursday 14 July.
The event was a great success, with the Panel sharing their wealth of experience with various government stakeholders and featured key messages from both the Minister and the Chair of the Panel.
The Procurement Compliance Portal has launched
With a focus on delivering targeted and accessible resources to support our compliance policies, the Queensland Government Procurement (QGP) Compliance Branch has recently released a Procurement Compliance Portal (the Portal) for government buyers.
Best Practice Industry Conditions: What you need to know and how you may be impacted during an audit
If you are a Managing Contractor who has been awarded a contract on a Best Practice Principles (BPP) Project, expect a requirement to apply Best Practice Industry Conditions (BPICs).
Best Practice Principles – Part 2: Best practice commitment to apprentices and trainees
Prioritising jobs for Queenslanders while providing opportunities for local businesses to supply to the Queensland Government is part of the Buy Queensland procurement approach. Suppliers who are delivering on major government projects valued at $100 million and above, or declared projects, within the Building Construction and Maintenance (BCM) and Transport Infrastructure and Services (TIS) industry areas are subject to the Best Practice Principles (BPP).
Investigation – collecting and assessing evidence
A key component in any investigation conducted by the Queensland Government Procurement (QGP) Compliance Branch is the collection and assessment of evidence.