• Section 1 - Preamble
• Section 2 - Purpose
• Section 3 - Scope
• Section 4 - Policy
• Section 5 - Procedure
• Quotations
• Tenders
• Processing
• Records
• Section 6 - Definitions

Section 1 - Preamble

(1) This Procedure was approved by the Vice-Chancellor on 22 April 2013.

(2) This Procedure is pursuant to the Procurement policy and includes the following schedules:

1. Schedule A: Procurement Value Threshold Limits
2. Schedule B: Overall Procurement Process
3. Schedule C: DFMS Purchase Order Process
4. Schedule D: Certificate of Exemption Process
5. Schedule E: Quotation Process
6. Schedule F: Tender Process

Section 2 - Purpose

(3) This Procedure provides instruction on how to acquire goods and services for the University.

Section 3 - Scope

(4) This Procedure applies to the purchase or lease of all goods and services from suppliers external to the University, other than (as covered in other policies and procedures) purchases from a single source for:

1. expenditure on goods and services from all Commonwealth, State or Territory public sector entities (including statutory authorities and government business enterprises)
2. purchases of labour from correctional enterprises
3. purchases from disability enterprises and other businesses that exist primarily to provide employment for people with a disability or provide goods and services on a not for profit basis
4. purchases funded by grants, loans or sponsorship from external persons/organisations where the external person/organisation nominates a supplier from whom the purchase is to be made
5. works of art
6. purchase of library materials, in any format, that are to be made available for loan by the University Library. These purchases shall be facilitated in accordance with the Library policy and Library management system
7. clinical and educational placement services provided by health, education and related organisations
8. services provided by staff who are employed through the University's payroll as part of their employment contract
9. engagement of solicitors or barristers where expertise is required to support the University Solicitor's Office or where there is a requirement to represent the University in a court related matter
10. purchases of land or other property.

Section 4 - Policy

(5) Refer to the Procurement policy.

Section 5 - Procedure

(6) Other than where an alternative person is specified, the following procedure must be followed by any purchaser.

(7) Confirm there is an approved budget for the goods and services being purchased.

(8) Check the Deakin Contracted and Preferred Suppliers website to determine whether an existing contract is available for the goods and services to be purchased.

(9) Ensure that the purchaser has the required financial delegation to make the purchase, or that a staff member with an appropriate financial delegation will complete the purchase.

(10) If the goods and services to be purchased are subject to an existing contract, proceed with the purchase from that contract.

(11) If the goods and services to be purchased are not subject to an existing contract, determine the value of the goods and services, and consult Schedule A of this Procedure to determine whether (and how many) quotations will be required or whether a tender will need to be prepared.

(12) If there is a reason to request an exemption to the procurement requirements outlined in Schedule A, submit a completed Certificate of Exemption Form to the Procurement Services Manager who will make a recommendation to the Chief Operating Officer (COO) who will decide whether to certify the exemption. Schedule D contains additional information about the certificate of exemption process. Refer also to the Procurement policy for guidance as to reasonable requests for exemptions.

(13) If an exemption is not required or is not certified, seek quotations or prepare a tender as required under Schedule A: Procurement Value Threshold Limits of this Procedure prior to purchasing goods.

(14) Consult Schedule B: Overall Procurement Process for additional support in following this Procedure.

Quotations

(15) Document the requirements for the goods and services and provide this documentation to suppliers for quoting. In seeking quotations:

1. provide identical information to all of the suppliers who are invited to quote
2. do not seek quotations from related arms of the same organisation.

(16) When the quotations have been received, evaluate them against cost and other relevant criteria. Ensure that:

1. verbal quotations are recorded and these, along with any written quotations accompanying documentation is retained in accordance with clause 40e
2. the same criteria are used to assess the suitability of each quotation
3. the lowest cost quotation is accepted unless there is a suitable reason not to (suitable reasons include quality of goods and services, risk management, suitability of the goods and services offered, previous interactions with the supplier, and references from other organisations) and that reason is documented
4. no one involved in the decision-making process has a conflict of interest. Refer to the Code of Conduct.

(17) For quotations valued at greater than $100,000 prepare a written quotation report that includes the evaluation of quotations and justifies why the preferred quotation was accepted. Provide this report and a purchase requisition for approval to an appropriate authorised officer (refer Financial Delegations policy), and retain / store in accordance with clause 44.

(18) Where required, prepare a contract in line with the Contracts policy.

(19) Consult Schedule E: Quotation Process for additional support regarding the process for quotations.

Tenders

(20) A tender process should be undertaken using one of the following:

1. an open expression of interest process
2. an open expression of interest followed by a select request for tender
3. a select request for tender, request for proposal or request for information following endorsement by certificate of exemption
4. an open request for tender, request for proposal or request for information.

(21) Schedule F: Tender Process demonstrates the steps required for the facilitation of a tender process.

(22) Seek approval from Pro Vice-Chancellor or a more senior officer of a Faculty or equal to proceed to tender.

(23) Determine the closing time for the tender, using the following guidelines:

1. the tender period for both open and selective tendering should provide sufficient time for suppliers to prepare and submit a tender having regard to the value and complexity of the purchase
2. the tender period should take into account the time required to transmit and submit hard copy documentation where the supplier market may lack the ability to access and upload documents electronically
3. minimum suggested tender periods are:
4. all tenders shall close at 2.00 p.m. on either of a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday
5. The close of tenders shall not occur on any of the following:
   1. before 2.00 p.m. on any day
   2. on any day immediately following or preceding a public holiday, industry holiday, or industry rostered day off or at least one week after a recognised holiday period (viz., Christmas or Easter).
6. Once the tender has been released, the closing date or time may be extended with the approval of the applicable Divisional Director or Pro Vice-Chancellor of Faculty, or their delegate, with the exception that the extension shall not take place if the latest advertised close of tender is less than two working days from the date the proposed extension is to take place. All tenderers must be notified in writing of the proposed extension.

(24) Determine whether the lodgement of tenders shall take place electronically at www.tenderlink.com/deakin or in hardcopy through a Deakin tender box. Only one tender box (either electronic or hardcopy) should be nominated for each tender.

(25) Prepare documentation for the tender and/or expression of interest. Use the University's Standard Form Tender Documents to prepare a tender whenever possible. Tender documents should:

1. clearly define the proposed contractual obligations for all parties
2. provide full details and a statement of requirements of the purchase for which the tender is being called
3. contain key performance indicators with which the University and the supplier are required to comply
4. nominate a reasonable time for tendering
5. nominate a suitable time for the delivery of the project if the tender is for a construction or other lump sum project
6. provide all known information that may affect the risks in the delivery of the future contract (for instance conflict of interest, or insurance coverage requirements)
7. specify the method and time of lodgement
8. provide guidance to tenderers on the evaluation process
9. provide a timetable, including when tender responses are due, an expected decision date and the tender validity period
10. include contact details for questions relating to the tender
11. include a draft contract.

(26) Provide the tender document to the Procurement Services Manager for endorsement prior to its release. If the University's Standard Form Tender documents have not been used then approval must also be given by the University Solicitor.

(27) Proceed to tender. Ensure that:

1. the tender is facilitated via the University's electronic tender portal Tenderlink.
2. the tender documentation is accessible by prospective tenderers from the University's electronic tender portal at www.tenderlink.com/deakin in the first instance or from the contact person for the tender if access to the portal is unavailable.

(28) Once the tender has closed:

1. Ensure the tender box (electronic or hardcopy) is opened as soon as possible after the closing time nominated and at the location nominated in the tender documentation. The tender box opening should be attended by:
   1. the Procurement Services Manager and another representative of Procurement Services; or
   2. in the event that the tender opening is facilitated by a party external to the University then the opening shall be attended by one representative from the external party and the Procurement Services Manager or nominee.
2. Ensure that all tender responses received are recorded in a tender register maintained by the Procurement Services Manager.
3. Tenders received after the time allowed for the delivery of tenders shall be deemed late tenders and shall be referred to the Procurement Services Manager for further consideration and decision.
4. Tender documents shall be retained by the Sponsor area and be securely stored following the completion of the tender process.

(29) The Procurement Services Manager in conjunction with the Sponsor area will establish a panel of at least two people to: evaluate the tenders received, identify a preferred respondent and prepare a tender evaluation report. Any panel member involved in the tender process, evaluation or reporting, who is external to the University, must complete a conflict of interest declaration and a deed of confidentiality.

(30) The tender evaluation process must provide a fair comparison between the responses and be conducted in accordance with the approved evaluation methodology and criteria. The same evaluation method should be applied to each response. Evaluation criteria will be specific to each tender, but must take into account the principles outlined in the Procurement policy.

(31) The tender evaluation report should include:

1. an overview of the tender process, the tenders received and the process undertaken to arrive at a preferred respondent
2. a review of the financial elements of the proposed tender (that is, budget and tender estimates)
3. a review of the draft contract, conducted by the University Solicitor
4. if the tender is greater than $1,000,000 (GST exclusive) in value, a due diligence/financial capability review of the preferred respondent, conducted by the Head, Commercial Management Unit
5. a review of the risk management issues and controls associated with the appointment of the preferred respondent and the delivery of the tender, conducted by the Director, Corporate Governance, Risk and Compliance Services
6. a statement provided by the Procurement Services Manager that all legislative, policy and procedural requirements have been met
7. a statement regarding any communication requirements associated with the acceptance of the tender or the delivery of the tender.

(32) Submit the tender evaluation report for approval and acceptance of the tender to an authorised officer, as listed in the Financial Delegations policy.

(33) Arrange for the preparation of the contract in accordance with the Contracts policy and award the contract.

(34) Provide advice to unsuccessful tenderers.

(35) Formal complaints associated with the outcome of a tender process should be referred to the Procurement Services Manager for facilitation and resolution.

(36) If the complaint cannot be resolved by the Procurement Services Manager the University Solicitor should be informed and consulted.

(37) Post tender debriefings should be conducted with unsuccessful tenderers if they are requested. The debriefing should be provided by someone closely involved with the evaluation of the tender submissions.

Processing

(38) For purchases under $5000 a corporate credit card can be used to complete the transaction.

(39) For purchases over $5000, a purchase requisition should be raised through DFMS prior to making the purchase (see Schedule C: DFMS Purchase Order Process).

(40) When raising and approving purchase requisitions, ensure that the:

1. requisition contains a meaningful description of the product or service being procured
2. contact details of the supplier are correct
3. supplier is a valid company for the purposes of taxation (that is, the supplier is not a unit or related trust and has a current Australian Business Number)
4. supplier has provided current banking details for electronic funds transfer purposes
5. supplier has appropriate insurance and quality and/or health and safety systems in place
6. requisition is raised exclusive of GST.

(41) A standing order can be raised in DFMS for goods and services procured from the same supplier on a regular basis where the procurement process has otherwise complied with the requirements of this Procedure and the Contracts policy.

(42) Provide the purchase requisition to the Procurement Services Manager who will review and authorise all requisitions prior to dispatch to the supplier, and may reject any non-compliant requisitions.

(43) A staff member who is responsible as part of their duties to perform the function of taking delivery of the goods and services will certify by way of invoice and/or contract progress payment that all of the goods were received in good order and condition or that all of the services were performed satisfactorily prior to payment being made to the supplier.

Records

(44) Records must be maintained in accordance with the University's Information and Records Management policy and Information and Records Management procedure. Documents that need to be included in the University's recordkeeping and information management system (TRIM) include the approved contract budget, tender documents and proposals received, quotations received, documents detailing the selection process, contract variations, any complaints about a tender process, and the response to the complaint, progress reports and performance evaluations. The original hard copy documents must also be sent to the Records Unit for storage.

Section 6 - Definitions

(45) For the purpose of this Procedure:

1. Procurement: the acquisition of goods and services by way of purchase, hire-purchase agreement, lease or other contractual arrangement where the acquisition has been facilitated by either a purchase order, letter, agreement, contract, memorandum of understanding or similar written document.
2. Purchase requisition: a request for the purchase of goods and services for the University.
3. Purchaser: a staff member of the University or any other person or organisation authorised to undertake procurement activities on behalf of the University.
4. Quotation: any procurement process valued at less than $300,000 conducted by the University via a select or open method and taking the form of an expression of interest (EOI), request for quotation (RFQ), request for proposal (RFP), request for information (RFI) or similar type process.
5. Sponsor area: that area of the University responsible for the purchase, receipt or ongoing use or management of the goods and services where the procurement process requires the conduct of a quotation or tender process.
6. Standing order: an order for goods and services to be supplied on an on-going basis, usually up to an agreed value.
7. Supplier: an external individual, partnership or company engaged to provide goods and services to the University.
8. Sustainable procurement: the purchase of goods and services where equivalent consideration is given to the social, environmental and economic elements of the purchase.
9. Tender: a process that involves the procurement of goods and services valued at more than $300,000 (GST exclusive), conducted by the University via a select or open method and taking the form of an expression of interest (EOI), request for tender (RFT), request for proposal (RFP), request for information (RFI) or similar type process.