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SME participation in Australian Government ICT procurement

ICT is a major part of Government purchasing. The Commonwealth Procurement Guidelines, issued by the Minister for Finance and Administration, require Australian Government agencies and officials ensure that local industry is provided with the opportunity to compete for Government business. However, the core principle underpinning all Australian Government procurement is value for money.

ICT procurements of $20 million and above

For ICT contracts of $20 million and above, Australian Government agencies subject to the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997 (FMA Act) are to include a minimum target level for SME participation ranging between 10-20 per cent of the contract value, depending on the proportion of hardware and software/services (10 per cent for hardware, 20 per cent for software/services).

This policy, which was introduced in June 2002 as part of the Government's simplification of ICT procurement arrangements, supplements the Commonwealth Procurement Guidelines target of a minimum 10 per cent SME spend generally. Any SME participation stemming from ICT contracts of $20 million and above will count towards the achievement of the agency wide 10 per cent target.

Agencies are responsible for implementing the policy in accordance with FMA Regulations.

The Department collects data on SME participation in ICT contracts of $20 million and above from individual agencies. Please refer to data on SME participation for 2002-03 and 2003-04 and data on SME participation for 2004-05.

For more details on this policy see industry development requirements for major procurements of ICT products and services.

Australian Government ICT procurement data

The Department engaged research firm Intermedium to analyse Australian Government procurement data over the period 2001-2003, and 2004-05 and report on the portions being won by SMEs, large Australian and multinational ICT companies.

Intermedium's reports on ICT procurement by Australian Government agencies in 2001-02 and 2002-03, and 2003-04 and 2004-05 are available in this section.

  • Document ID: 8481 |
  • Last modified: 6 February 2008, 2:11pm