Direct link: www.buyict.gov.au/sp?id=resources_and_policies&kb=KB0010637
Responsible agency: Digital Transformation Agency
Last updated: 10 July 2024
The Australian Government agreed to the ICT Procurement Taskforce recommendation for ‘adopting a framework for ICT procurement that includes ICT procurement policy principles to guide decision-making’. The Digital sourcing consider first policy is the first policy issued under the framework.
This policy aims to guide agencies through early consideration of important factors that help investments meet their intended outcomes.
Applicability
The Digital Sourcing Consider First Policy is effective from 1 July 2019. The policy applies to Non-Corporate Commonwealth Entities, as defined by the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013, and may be leveraged by other Commonwealth entities and companies.
This policy must be applied to any investment in digital products and/or services with an expected or realised whole-of-life cost of $80,000 or greater (GST inclusive).
The procurement threshold is $80,000 (GST Inclusive) at Paragraph 9.7a of the Commonwealth Procurement Rules. If the threshold is changed, this policy will automatically apply the new threshold.
Agencies are still encouraged to apply the policy for each investment below $80,000 (GST inclusive).
The policy must be used during the identification of business needs and before making any investment decisions (prior to sourcing, building or re-using a digital product and/or service). The policy does not replace other evaluation requirements.
Access the policy
The buyict.gov.au website hosts the Digital sourcing consider first policy (full text).
Consider first assessment tool
Agencies must complete a self-assessment using the Consider first assessment tool for each applicable investment.
The tool must be used during identification of business needs and before making any investment decisions (prior to sourcing, building or re-using a digital product and/or service).