Recent changes to state government procurement show a focus on cutting red tape. In NSW, procurement reforms have been passed and the new NSW Procurement Board, headed by Director-General Michael Coutts-Trotter, has been put into place. Finance and Services Minister Greg Pearce said the changes will improve companies’ chances to pitch to the public sector.
"These changes will streamline internal government processes and, when coupled with simpler contracts and easier requirements to register for government business, will make doing business with the NSW Government easier," Pearce said.
Examples of NSW opening up for tenders include Pearce’s announcement of breaks with Telstra’s and law firm Clayton Utz’ strangleholds on government contracts and a “clean up” of 30 to 50 existing contracts.
The reforms follow other changes made in recent months. From the 1st of July 2012, NSW State Government scrapped the 2.5 per cent supply management fee on government contracts. It also removed restrictions for tied funds in schools that have a balance of less than $5,000, giving greater authority to school principals and how they manage spending.
Pearce also proposed a more open pre-qualification scheme for aspiring suppliers, hoping it will give SMEs more chances to compete with larger scale suppliers over government contracts. NSW follows suit after the Victorian State Government decided to replace its fixed panels of ICT services suppliers with a more open pre-qualification scheme.
In Queensland, which is currently undergoing significant structural makeovers, the LNP has proposed a new central procurement office for state departments and agencies. The proposal for a central procurement office is a result of recent issues with the internal shared services agency CITEC.
On a Federal Government level, the Australian Participation Industry’s new requirements to procurement processes have been introduced to increase chances for local companies to win some of the biggest projects in the country worth over $20 million.
