Direct link: buyict.gov.au/policy/fair criteria policy
Responsible agency: Digital Transformation Agency
Last updated: 11 April 2023
The Digital Sourcing Fair Criteria Policy aims to increase fairness in digital sourcing by allowing more companies to sell to government, regardless of their size or previous experience with government agencies.
This policy supports the Digital Sourcing Framework that oversees the whole lifecycle of buying digital products and services on behalf of the Australian Government.
The policy should be implemented prior to scoping proposed solutions and drafting requirements. It does not replace other procurement processes.
Applicability
The policy is mandatory for non-corporate Commonwealth entities, as defined by the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013, and optional for corporate Commonwealth entities.
Under the policy, the Fair Criteria Checklist must be completed for each procurement of digital products or services reaching a whole-of-life threshold of $80,000 or greater (GST inclusive), as per the Paragraph 9.7a of the Commonwealth Procurement Rules. If the threshold is changed, this policy will automatically apply the new threshold.
Agencies are also encouraged to complete the checklist for procurements below this threshold.
The policy does not apply:
- when buying from a mandatory category of a Digital Mandatory whole-of-government panel
- to procurements that are subject to Paragraph 2.6 of the Commonwealth Procurement Rules.
Access the policy
The BuyICT website hosts the Digital Sourcing Fair Criteria Policy (full text).
Policy requirements
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The policy aims to:
- give agencies access to a competitive, vibrant and diverse market of sellers
- address the imbalance between sellers who already have access and new players
- guide the development of outcomes-focused requirements and documentation
- ensure that agencies provide better feedback to sellers
- improve visibility of opportunities available across government for all sellers.
The policy does this by providing government buyers with a checklist. The checklist helps agencies ensure fairness when sourcing digital products or services.
- The Fair Criteria Checklist must be completed for each applicable procurement of digital products or services. This should be done prior to scoping proposed solutions and drafting requirements. The checklist outlines each stage of sourcing and provides agencies with advice on how to meet the fairness criteria.