Purchasing

The department’s procurement policies and practices are consistent with all relevant Commonwealth laws, the Commonwealth financial framework (including the Commonwealth Procurement Rules) and other relevant policies.

The department publishes its procurement activities over $10,000 (GST inclusive) and business opportunities of $80,000 and above (GST inclusive) on the AusTender website (www.tenders.gov.au). The department’s procurement activities are communicated and accessible to all business enterprises. No contracts were exempt from reporting on AusTender in 2019–20.

Procurement initiatives to support small business

The department supports small business participation in the Commonwealth procurement market. Small and medium enterprise (SME) and small enterprise participation statistics are available on the Department of Finance’s website (www.finance.gov.au).

The department’s procurement practices are consistent with the Commonwealth Procurement Rules. They provide opportunities for SMEs to compete, and ensure there is no discrimination. For example, the department uses the Commonwealth Contracting Suite for low-risk procurements valued under $200,000. Many small businesses do not have sufficient scale, skills or resources to prepare complex tender documents. Using this suite, which has simple and consistent contract terms and insurance requirements, simplifies the process and makes it easier for SMEs to bid for business opportunities.

The department recognises the importance of ensuring small businesses are paid on time. Changes have been made to how the department manages incoming invoices. This change has led to a more efficient process for businesses when submitting invoices for payment and greater assurance that businesses are paid on time. The results of the survey of Australian Government Payments to Small Business are available on the Treasury’s website (www.treasury.gov.au).

Indigenous Procurement Policy

The department, through the Indigenous Procurement Policy, is committed to growing its engagement with Indigenous businesses. For 2019–20, the department had 206 contracts in place with majority Indigenous-owned businesses valued at $20,203,105. This exceeded the Commonwealth Indigenous Procurement target of $11,209,000 as set by the National Indigenous Australians Agency for the department.

Consultancies

The department engages consultants to provide independent and expert advice or services, taking into account the:

• skills and resources required for the task
• skills available internally
• the cost-effectiveness of these options.

The decision to engage a consultant is made in accordance with the PGPA Act and related regulations.

The methods of selection for consultancies are open tender, limited tender and panel arrangements (initially selected through either an open tender or prequalified tender process). Consultants are typically engaged to:

• investigate or diagnose a defined issue or problem
• carry out defined research, reviews or evaluations
• provide independent advice, information or creative solutions to assist the department in decision-making.

During 2019–20, 99 new consultancy contracts were entered into involving total actual expenditure of $23,350,537. In addition, 57 ongoing consultancy contracts were active during the period, involving total actual expenditure of $21,671,761.

Annual reports contain information about actual expenditure on contracts for consultancies. Information on the value of contracts and consultancies is available on the AusTender website (www.tenders.gov.au).

Grant programs

Information on grants awarded by the department during 2019–20 is available on the Grant Connect website (www.grants.gov.au).

Advertising and marketing

No advertising campaigns were conducted in 2019–20.

The department undertook exploratory research and creative development to:

• test target audiences’ responses to creative concepts for Australian Government programs and financial incentives to hire employees
• better understand target audience responses towards the vocational education and training sector
• inform and validate a communication approach among target audiences for the national evidence institute.

Details of payments for this exploratory research and creative development to advertising, market research and media advertising organisations are provided in tables 3.7 to 3.9. Payments that are less than the value threshold contained in section 311A of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 are excluded.