The Auditor-General is sharing eight key lessons to help Australia’s public servants effectively conduct Government procurements.
In the latest issue of Audit Insights, Auditor-General Grant Hehir said the edition was targeted towards Government officials who had responsibility for overseeing or conducting procurements, including those who only did procurement occasionally.
Mr Hehir said the insights were drawn from audit reports tabled in 2020–21, 2021–22 and 2022–23 into Australian Government procurements.
“Audits in this space have identified cases where entities seek to comply with the small number of mandatory requirements without considering how this achieves the fundamental principles and expectations of the Commonwealth Procurement Framework.” Mr Hehir said.
“These audits have highlighted eight key lessons for effectively conducting Australian Government procurements.”
He said the lessons were to: Use appropriate expertise; Begin planning early; Be transparent about decision-making; Use competition to achieve value for money; Assess the options and demonstrate value for money; Act ethically; Monitor contractor performance; and Keep good records and report accurately.
Mr Hehir said many procurements were complex, and even simple procurements must follow the rules and expectations of the procurement framework, including to engage with Australian Government procurement experts.
“The Department of Finance provides a range of resources for conducting effective procurements, including contact details for advice, on the Department of Finance website,” the Auditor-General said.
“The Digital Transformation Agency can provide advice on ICT procurement through the BuyICT website,” he said.
“There are also a number of communities of practice related to procurement.”
Mr Hehir said procurements needed to be well planned with sufficient time to give decision-makers a genuine choice, and poor planning could lead to the use of Commonwealth Procurement Rule exemptions, which may otherwise have been avoided.
He said rolling contracts over as they expire may be the only option available to entities that failed to appropriately plan for contract succession and service continuity.
The Auditor-General’s Audit Insights Procurement and contract management can be accessed at this PS News link.
