This page provides insights into the various procurement processes government agencies use to buy goods or services. Analysis on this page is based on contracts awarded.
If you are looking for Opportunities to sell to government, please refer to our Business Opportunities page.
Government buyers must comply with the Commonwealth Procurement Rules and other Government policies and guidance when making decisions regarding procurement. Government Buyers are also required to ensure value for money is achieved using efficient, effective, economical and ethical processes when buying Goods or Services.
The processes Government buyers use to approach the market are referred to as Procurement Methods.
Open tender method involves:
Limited tender method involves:
Note: Since 1 July 2019, the prequalified tender method was removed from the Commonwealth Procurement Rules, and is being phased out.
The below analysis shows aggregated information on the use of each Procurement Method over the past 10 years.
The Commonwealth Procurement Framework enables government buyers to establish Standing Offer Panel arrangements to streamline the buying and selling process for commonly used goods or services.
Standing Offer Panels are usually established by approaching the open market on AusTender for a period of time, where all potential suppliers are invited to participate. Potential suppliers that apply while the opportunity is open will be evaluated, and if their response meets the conditions for participation and is considered to represent value for money, they may be appointed to participate in the Standing Offer Panel arrangement.
Standing Offer Panel arrangements can be established to be refreshable, depending on the needs of the Government buyer. This means that there may be further opportunities to apply for inclusion on a Standing Offer Panel arrangement once it has been established.
Many Standing Offers are refreshed from time to time to provide the opportunity for new suppliers to apply. Keep up to date and be notified of opportunities to become a Standing Offer supplier by becoming a registered user on AusTender.
For information on individual panel arrangements use the existing Dynamic Sourcing for Panels search.
Procurements valued at or above $80,000 are generally required to be advertised publicly via AusTender and are open to any business that wants to respond.
There are exceptions to this rule that allow Government buyers to directly engage with potential suppliers in certain circumstances.
These circumstances exist for a range of reasons including enhancing Government buyer's ability to protect Australia's national security and human health, or to increase social or economic benefits for Australia by including more support for a range of businesses such as Small and Medium Enterprises, Indigenous Owned Businesses and Australian Disability Enterprises.
Note: On 1 July 2018, the Commonwealth introduced additional transparency over the use of limited tendering. This includes the requirement for Agencies to report specific details of the exemptions or conditions used when awarding a limited tender contract. From 1 July 2024 AusTender reporting methodology was enhanced to require entities to report all amendments which either increase or decrease a contract by $10,000 or more. Care should be taken when comparing historical data as figures before the 2024-25 financial year do not include decreases in contract value.