Tenders & Procurement

• Decide if you are suitable for the project
• Read the tender document carefully and familiarise yourself with the conditions of tendering, the conditions of contract and all specifications or requirements, especially clauses dealing with delivery and price variations.
• You must have an Australian Business Number (ABN), which needs to be included in your application. You can apply for an ABN via the Australian Business Register.
• If you are unsure about a proposed contract, either discuss it with the nominated contact in the tender advertisement or have the tender reviewed by your legal representative.

Do:

• Prepare responses against the evaluation criteria and address all elements of each criterion.
• Seek to understand the mandatory requirements and terms and conditions.
• Demonstrate your organisation's ability to provide the required services – provide factual and focused responses using examples.
• Provide sufficient detail on any assumptions being made.
• Detail how your offer will be resourced – demonstrate the capacity of your organisation to provide the services required.
• Ask questions – if unsure of the meaning of something, ask the tender team for clarification. They are there to help.
• Leave sufficient time to lodge your bid via 

Don't:

• Assume the tender evaluation team knows about your organisation and its capabilities – this is particularly relevant to incumbent suppliers. Tender teams can only evaluate what is submitted in written responses and obtained through verification activities.
• Submit broad, vague or repetitious statements, or irrelevant marketing information.
• Cut and paste information from previous tender responses without checking if the information is relevant to the current tender.
• Assume there will be a second opportunity to provide pricing – submit the best offer the first time.
• Provide vague information such as "up to 24 hours" or "we will save you 50 per cent". Be specific and provide all the information in your submission.

• Have I read the document in full and understood it?
• Have I sought clarification on any points I don't understand?
• Have I completed every field required?
• Have I answered all criteria?
• Have I signed every field that requires a signature?

Once you have filled out all the necessary fields from the document, answered each of the criteria and supplied the required number of copies of your submission, you are ready to lodge your tender document.

The questions in the tender are carefully designed to ensure the best provider is selected for each project.

If your tender is accepted, the information in your tender forms part of the contract. Failure to answer all mandatory fields can result in your tender being marked as non-conforming.

Tender submissions should be lodged electronically via eProcure by the closing time on the closing date nominated.

Late submissions will not be considered, except in exceptional circumstances, even if they are only a few minutes late.

Council does not accept submissions via email.

Every submission will be reviewed by a tender evaluation panel in accordance with the criteria listed in the Request for Tender documents.

The panel will examine it for compliance with the conditions of tendering. Each tender submission is read in detail and examined. The strengths and weaknesses of each tender are recorded.

You will be advised in writing that whether your submission was successful or not, once Council has considered the responses.

A conforming tender is one that meets the conditions outlined in the Request for Tender document and all requirements of these specifications. A tender may be ruled non-conforming if the submission is incomplete, does not meet the requirements of the specification or contract as required under the request for tender.

The panel will base procurement decisions on a principle of "value for money" rather than "lowest costs". Preference will also be given to environmentally performing products that are cost competitive, and organisations that operate in an environmentally responsible manner.

There is no opportunity to negotiate the contract after the tender has been accepted. If you wish to offer substitute terms they must be submitted in full as part of your tender.

Lobbying councillors or staff is prohibited and may disqualify you from the process.