Commonwealth Procurement Rules

Procurement

Our Procurement Plan is available on the AusTender website, it provides information on significant procurements that we plan to undertake over the next 12 months.

We must comply with the Commonwealth Procurement Rules (CPRs) when procuring goods and services. These rules are available on the Department of Finance website.

AFMA’s purchasing and procurement policies and practices are consistent with:

• all relevant Commonwealth legislation
• the Australian Government financial framework, including the CPRs
• our Accountable Authority Instructions (AAIs), and relevant policies.

Procurement Complaints 

The Government introduced the Government Procurement (Judicial Review) Act 2018 (the Act) to provide suppliers and/or potential suppliers with a mechanism for lodging a formal complaint if they believe:

• a department has or will breach relevant CPRs relating to a covered procurement, and
• this will affect their interests.

Covered procurements

According to the Act a covered procurement is:

• a procurement where both Divisions 1 and 2 of the CPRs apply
• where the procurement value is at or above the following thresholds:
  1. $80,000 (including GST) – for procurements other than construction services
  2. $7.5 million (including GST) – for procurements of construction services
• not otherwise exempt from compliance with Division 1 and/or Division 2 of the CPRs.

A more detailed explanation of the Act is provided in the Department of Finance resource guide 'Handling Complaints under the Government Procurement' (Judicial Review) Act 2018 (RMG 422).

Under the Act, complaints must be made in writing to the relevant entity immediately after becoming aware of the alleged breach of the relevant Commonwealth Procurement Rules (CPRs). An AFMA contact officer can inform you whether the procurement process is subject to the Act.

Lodging a complaint

If you wish to lodge a dispute or complaint about a procurement process, you should write to the complaint officer. You should provide details of the basis of your dispute or complaint including:

• Your full name, the business you represent, and your contact details.
• A reference number for the procurement such as the 'ATM ID' on AusTender.
• A clear statement regarding the nature of your complaint (i.e. what you consider was defective in the procurement process).
• Copies of, or references to, information to support the complaint.
• Where applicable, a clear statement of which paragraph(s) of the Commonwealth Procurement Rules you believe have been breached.
• Whether you intend the complaint to be a formal complaint under section 18 of the Government Procurement (Judicial Review) Act 2018.
• A statement as to what you wish to achieve from the complaint process.

You should also make yourself aware of the Department of Finance’s guidance which outlines the complaints process under the Government Procurement (Judicial Review) Act 2018.

How we will respond

Once we receive your written complaint we will:

• acknowledge receipt of your complaint as soon as practicable
• assess if your claim demonstrates that a breach has or will occur in accordance with section 18(1) of the Act
• immediately suspend the procurement activity if your complaint is determined to be valid. The exception to this is if a Public Interest Certificate (PIC) is already in force. The AFMA will advise you if this is the case
• investigate legitimate complaints and work with you to find a solution within seven working days. However, if the matter is complex, more time may be required to resolve the complaint. The AFMA will keep you informed if an extension is required
• seek your written confirmation that the complaint is resolved. You have five working days to respond to the AFMA’s request
• provide a written report informing you of the outcome of the investigation.

If you are not satisfied that the complaint has been resolved, you can apply to the Federal Circuit Court of Australia, or the Federal Court of Australia for injunctions or payment of compensation for breaches of the relevant CPRs relating to covered procurements under the Act. Applications to the court must be made within 10 days of becoming aware of the breach. A longer period may be allowed by the court if it is satisfied that the failure to make the application within this timeframe was attributable to the supplier’s reasonable attempt to resolve the complaint.