The Federal Government’s new Commonwealth Procurement Rules have come into effect, providing Government officials with streamlined rules to achieve the greatest value for money when procuring goods and services.

 

The key changes include:

  1. The CPRs are now rules (previously, they were Guidelines);
  2. ‘Value for money’ has been reworded to clarify that it incorporates other policies of the Commonwealth and applies to the entire procurement process;
  3. The AusTender 42 day reporting requirements has been clarified; and,
  4. A new exemption from Division 2 has been added for procurement from a SME with at least 50 per cent Indigenous ownership.

 

“Coordinated procurements have improved the value for money achieved by agencies and have reduced costs for agencies and tendering costs for suppliers,” Minister for Finance and Deregulation Senator Penny Wong said.

 

The updated rules can be found here