Inviting Tenders

Relevant Treasurer's Instructions

How do I invite tenders?

Issuing the RFT

Briefings for prospective tenderers

Responding to questions

Relevant Treasurer's Instructions

Treasurer's Instruction 1102 and 1107

How do I invite tenders?

Tenders must be publicly advertised in the Saturday edition of the Mercury, the Examiner or the Advocate and on the Tenders website at www.tenders.tas.gov.au. Please refer to the Treasurer's Instruction 1107 for further information.

Tenders may, in addition to the above, be sought directly from suitable businesses.

Advertising in the print media and on purchasing.tas.gov.au

For detailed information relating to advertising and how to have tenders advertised see How do I advertise tenders? Located at www.purchasing.tas.gov.au>Buying for Government>Resources>FAQ.

Direct invitation to tender

Copies of the Request for Tender (RFT) can also be sent direct to identified businesses at the time the tender is advertised - for instance, to:

• the current provider of the good/service;
• businesses that have been identified during the market research phase;
• businesses identified by the ICN;
• businesses identified using BIZTAS;
• businesses that have approached you previously expressing an interest in supplying the good or service (for instance, at Meet the Buyers events); and
• other known local businesses.

However, copies of the RFT must not be provided to any potential tenderer until after the tender has been advertised.

Issuing the RFT

Tender documentation may be issued either by mail, e-mail, and/or the eLodgement facility of the eTendering system, which allows suppliers to download the documents/s. It is essential that the details of all businesses being issued with the RFT are recorded. Details should include:

• name of business;
• address;
• contact person;
• e-mail;
• telephone; and
• facsimile.

Agencies are encouraged to make all tender documentation available via the Tenders website or other electronic medium.

How long should tenderers be given to respond to the RFT?

The time provided for tenderers to respond to the RFT will depend largely upon the nature of the tender and the complexity of the purchase.

At a minimum, the tender should be open for three weeks. If the requirements are complex, or it is likely that interested businesses may need to form partnerships / consortia with other businesses in order to fulfil the requirements of the tender, then sufficient time will need to be provided to enable this process to occur and the response to be prepared.

Where a tender is covered by a Free Trade Agreement (refer to the Treasurer's Instruction 1102), set time limits apply. Briefly, a tender must be advertised for at least 25 days from the date of publication of the RFT. Lesser periods of time can apply in specific circumstances. Reference should be had to the Free Trade Agreements Guideline for further information.

What if the RFT needs to be changed?

If, for any reason, there is a need to alter tender documentation once the tender has opened, an addendum must be sent to all businesses that have been issued with the RFT.

Tenderers should be provided with sufficient time to take account of the addenda in the preparation of their offer. If it is necessary to extend the closing date of the tender, then you must:

• advise all tenderers and potential tenderers (ie those issued with an RFT) in writing;
• advertise the change in all the newspapers where the original advertisement was placed; and
• amend the advertisement on the Tenders website.

Briefings for prospective tenderers

It is often useful to invite prospective tenderers to a briefing session. Such sessions help to:

• promote local industry involvement;
• expand on complex, unusual or sensitive requirements; and
• enable prospective tenderers to inspect the site/location (eg for cleaning contracts).

The tender advertisement should advise tenderers of any tender briefing session, and whether attendance at the session is compulsory.

Responding to Questions

All contact with prospective tenderers must be documented, transparent and unbiased. You should:

• specify in the tender documentation who to contact for more information, and make sure that all contact is limited to this person;
• document all contact from potential tenderers, including what questions were asked and what information was provided;
• where possible, require any questions to be put in writing (email or facsimile will suffice) and respond in the same manner;
• limit information provided to clarification of procedural issues or documentation; and
• ensure that any additional information provided to one prospective tenderer is provided to them all (ie, everyone who has requested or received tender documentation).

For more information on probity issues, see Probity Guidelines.