Corruption Matters - November 2019 | Issue 54
Procurement
Do you buy goods or services for the NSW Government? If so, an easy-to-understand guide helps those responsible for procurement to better navigate the requirements. The revised framework was released in July 2019 and administered by Emma Cooper, Policy Manager, NSW Procurement, with whom we recently spoke.
Emma Cooper, Policy Manager, NSW Procurement
The Procurement Policy Framework replaces NSW Procurement’s 2015 guide. What are the key differences?
While it laid out the high-level requirements, it did not provide information on how to apply those requirements when you are planning and managing a procurement. It also did not cover the interactions between other government processes and procurement, like business cases, gateway reviews and commissioning.
Who is required to read this framework?
Anyone buying goods or services for NSW Government should refer to the framework, but they may not need to read the whole document! The idea is they can dip in and out to find what they need, when they need it.
Is it required by law?
The minimum requirements for government procurement are in legislation – principally the Public Works and Procurement Act 1912. Board Directions are issued under this Act, so they have the standing of law, as do Treasurer’s Circulars. We identify the source of all requirements in the framework, so it is clear where it is a legal requirement to apply a certain provision.
Other parts of the framework are government policy, so, as NSW government employees, we are required to comply and implement these policies.
It is largely a visual guide with a key that makes it easy to scan for icons that are relevant to the user. Can you talk us through the rationale for this style of policy and how you hope the guide is used?
It took some trial and error to arrive at this approach. We wanted something easy to understand and to make it very simple to see what is mandatory versus what is recommended or good practice. A lot of policies run through a list of requirements but it can be hard to know what you are actually meant to do; we’re trying to solve that.
The other issue was length. The framework is still pretty long, but we could not reproduce every detail … So we took out the key information, grouped it into understandable categories and added the key so it was really clear what you have to do for the various types of procurements and contract values.
Can you give an example of who might use this guide?
An administrative officer who has been asked to arrange a stationery order could use the framework to understand the rules about low-value procurements. They would look at the “Plan” section to understand what and how their agency can procure things. They should also look at “selecting a procurement method”. That will tell them about procurement exemptions for low-value purchases and the mandatory whole-of-government contracts (including for office supplies). They will not need the “Source” or “Manage” sections since they will not be putting in a new contract.
A procurement officer would use the guide more extensively. They would need to understand why we have certain policies, as well as how to comply with them. They should understand each of the objectives in section 1, and then use the Plan, Source and Manage sections as they work through their procurements. They may not need to read every item, but they would be referring to the framework as they work through a procurement activity and move into the contract management stage.
What did you personally learn most about this project?
There is a lot of procurement policy out there! Procurement touches on many other business functions, and vice versa; so everything from budget processes, financial delegations and foreign currency transactions through to environmental issues and resource efficiency can affect a procurement. Trying to cover it all is pretty challenging.
Aside from that, it helped me see that procurement can be a powerful tool to help achieve important government and social goals. For example, the Aboriginal Procurement Policy aims to use government procurement to support Aboriginal-owned businesses and provide employment opportunities for Aboriginal people. Given the scale and value of government procurement, even small adjustments in who we do business with can have a big impact.
The framework will be reviewed on a quarterly basis with a formal review in two years’ time. Talk us through the user-feedback process.
The framework combines a lot of sources, links and references and these change all the time. We need to keep the framework current, so we set a quarterly update schedule so people know in advance when updates are due and can plan around the schedule.
We set a two-year review date to make sure we revisit and test the effectiveness of the framework. We have made big changes in this version and it is important we check in on how that is working, and change things if it is not.
We also want to streamline the framework, and remove requirements that are ineffective or no longer needed. So, by setting a review date we are accountable for doing that work and keep improving the framework.
What message do you want to emphasise?
The framework is meant to be a reference document, not something you memorise from front to back. Do not try to understand everything all at once, but use the bits you need when you need them. Nothing is ever perfect, so people should let me know if they have suggestions, improvements or find errors. The framework wasn’t the work of one person and maintaining it shouldn’t be either.
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