Relevant
Treasurer's Instruction(s)
Background
Role of the
Procurement Review Committee
Membership
Information required
for endorsement of procurement and evaluation process
Communication of
Decision
Relevant Government
Guidelines and Documents
Templates
and Checklists
Relevant
Treasurer's Instruction
Treasurer's Instruction 1218.
Background
Each Agency is required to establish a
Procurement Review Committee for the purposes of reviewing all
building and construction (including roads and bridges)
procurements valued at $50 000 or over (excluding GST). The
purpose of the review is to ensure that procurement is undertaken
in accordance with the Government's procurement policies and
principles.
Set out below is information relating to the
operation of Procurement Review Committees. The information details
the matters that need to be referred to a Committee, the
information that should be provided to a Committee, and suggests a
format for submitting an evaluation to a Committee for
endorsement.
The mandatory requirements relating to
Procurement Review Committees for building and construction are set
out in Treasurer's Instruction 1218.
Role of the
Procurement Review Committee
The Procurement Review Committee's primary
role is to review the process for all procurements valued at $50
000 or over to ensure a fair and equitable process has been
followed. The Committee must consider the following:
-
compliance with procurement requirements set out in the
Treasurer's Instructions;
-
compliance with procurement guidelines contained in the Procurement
Practice Manuals and other guidance material;
-
conformity with all documents including site reports, geotechnical
reports and addenda;
-
value for money that the offer presents including whether the
appropriate weighting has been given to the cost component;
-
conformity with prequalification levels;
-
whether a fair and equitable process has been followed;
-
whether the principles and mandatory processes outlined in the
Free Trade Agreements Guideline (where applicable) have
been adhered to; and
-
any other matter the Committee considers appropriate.
The Procurement Review Committee must consider
all evaluation processes for procurements valued at $50 000 or over
including processes that result from an exemption approved by the
Secretary of Treasury or following an approval to procure by way of
a direct/limited submission sourcing procurement process under Treasurer's Instructions 1217 or 1231.
In all cases where a review of the procurement
process is required, the review is to take place prior to any
contract being awarded and prior to advice being provided to
participants of the outcome or negotiations being entered into with
the preferred supplier.
Agencies may extend the role of their
Procurement Review Committee beyond that set out above. For
example, other functions of an Agency's Procurement Review
Committee could include:
-
the approval of the procurement process to be adopted for
complex/high cost or high risk procurements;
-
the review of procurement documentation prior to advertising or
seeking quotations;
-
the review of other procurement processes within the agency (for
instance the procurement of goods between $10 000 and $50 000);
and
-
preparing recommendations in relation to procurements pursuant to
Treasurer's Instructions 1217 and 1231.
A Procurement Review Committee can also be a
focus of procurement data collection within an agency, for example:
information on awarded contracts can be collected from the
information that is submitted to the Committee, and included in the
Agency's Annual Report.
Membership
Treasurer's Instruction 1218 recommends that an
Agency's Procurement Review Committee consist of at least
three members being:
-
a Chairperson, to be nominated by the Head of Agency;
-
at least two members, experienced in government procurement
processes (but not part of the procurement evaluation team for the
procurement being reviewed); and
-
a Secretary to the Committee.
A quorum should consist of the Chairperson and
at least two members. Some agencies may wish to increase the
membership of their Procurement Review Committees, and have a panel
type arrangement, to allow for the absence of some members, or for
a situation where a member may be involved in a particular
procurement.
It is recommended that the Procurement Review
Committee should be a high level committee, preferably chaired by a
Deputy Secretary or Corporate Services Director of an agency.
Information
required for endorsement of procurement and evaluation process
The Procurement Review Committee must be
provided with sufficient information to enable it to be satisfied
that any process undertaken was in accordance with government
procurement principles and practices.
To enable the Procurement Review Committee to
undertake a review of any procurement, it will need to
consider:
-
the procurement process and evaluation process adopted;
-
the final evaluation report, signed by the evaluation panel;
-
critical dates (e.g. when the contract is to start, when the
current contract is due to expire, critical project milestones,
expenditure constraints etc);
-
any other relevant issues or information, such as a probity
adviser's report; and
-
a certification by the officer responsible for managing the
procurement process, verifying conformity with relevant policies
and guidelines.
If the usual tender or quotation process
has not been undertaken, evidence of an exemption or approval for
direct or limited submission sourcing (under Treasurer's Instruction 1217 or 1231), whichever is
applicable, should be provided to the Committee.
Communication of
Decision
The decision of the Committee to endorse, or
not endorse, the procurement process should be communicated to the
Chairperson of the Evaluation Panel and to any other relevant
staff. A copy of the Committee's endorsement of the procurement
and evaluation process must be provided, with the Evaluation
Report, to the person responsible for approving the awarding of the
contract (refer Treasurer's Instruction 1211). Where the value of the
procurement is $100 000 or over (for building and
construction) or $250 000 or over (for roads and bridges), the Head
of Agency is responsible for approval of the preferred
tenderer.
Relevant Government
Guidelines and Documents
The Treasurer's Instructions set out the principles,
policies, and procedures to be observed in government procurement
and disposal.
In addition to the Treasurer's
Instructions, Treasury has issued several publications providing
guidance to agencies or detailing other mandatory requirements
relating to government procurement. Publications to refer to
include:
Templates and Checklists
Links to template documentation and checklists
which may be of assistance, are provided below:
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