Purchasing
The Treasury’s purchasing activities are undertaken in accordance with government policy and best practice. Procurement of all goods and services is consistent with the requirements of the Commonwealth Procurement Guidelines. The Treasury applies the guidelines to all its activities through the Chief Executive Instructions and supporting operational guidelines.
The Treasury’s purchasing processes focuses on the core principle of value for money. We achieve this through:
- undertaking competitive, non-discriminatory procurement processes;
- the efficient, effective, ethical and economical use of resources;
- by ensuring decisions are made in an accountable and transparent manner.
Responsibility for procurement is devolved to individual policy groups with support from a central team of procurement specialists. The Treasury supports devolved procurement by providing a central single point of contact for staff seeking purchasing advice, and by providing ongoing support and training about procurement policies and procedures to staff. The Treasury’s procurement framework makes appropriate financial delegates responsible for procurement. Currently, all proposed procurements valued at $10,000 or more are reviewed by the Treasury’s Procurement and Contracts Team to ensure due process is followed.
The Treasury did not let any contracts during 2011-12 of $100,000 or more which did not provide for the Auditor-General to have access to the contractor’s premises and did not have any contracts that were exempted from being published on AusTender.
The Treasury publishes, on the AusTender website at www.tenders.gov.au, all contracts awarded with a value of $10,000 or more, and, in an annual procurement plan, information about significant procurements the department expects to undertake during the following year.