Ensuring fair and equal tender processes

Are you or a colleague too close to the tender process and may have a conflict of interest?

A procurement conflict of interest can arise between a person’s official duties and their private interests during the tender process.

Common conflict of interest scenarios can include:

1. Failing to disclose that you’re related to a person within a business that is considering or has submitted a tender response
2. Married or having a romantic relationship with a person within a business that is considering or has submitted a tender response
3. Holding shares or owning part of a business that is invited to tender and sells goods or services to your employer
4. If a person on the tender evaluation team can influence the outcome to provide an advantage to one known tenderer over the others 
5. A conflict of interest can arise from avoiding personal losses as well as gaining personal advantage – whether financial or otherwise.

For tenders where you think a conflict of interest may exist, engage a Peak Services Procurement Consultant to process your next tender to ensure a fair, equal and unbiased opportunity is given to all tenderers.

For more information regarding conflict of interests, read the toolkit by ICAC and CCC here

Are you protected during and after the tender process from claims by aggrieved tenderers? 

It is well established in the law of tendering that the owner of the tender process is under an obligation to treat all bidders fairly and equally. It takes suppliers time, money and resources to submit tender responses. If the process is found to be unfair or selected tenderers are given an advantage over others - legal action, penalties and disputes can occur. 

Unfair advantages and unfair tender evaluation scenarios can include: 

1. Accepting tender submissions after the closing date
2. Allowing selected tenderers more time to submit a proposal than others
3. Not providing all tenderers with the same information during the clarification process
4. Deviating from your tender evaluation method and scoring system after the tender submissions are opened
5. Allowing a tender submission to progress to the next phase of evaluations when disqualification should have occurred
6. There was no evidence or material to justify the final decision 
7. A conflict of interest existed that influenced the decision during the tender process. 

Independence in the process can be the solution

The team at Peak is available to step in to be your expert independent advisor. By safeguarding your organisation from possible repercussions of the tender process we can help you mitigate procurement and reputational risk, ensuring your procurement process is fair and transparent and able to stand up to any scrutiny.

Judicial Review Act 1991 (QLD) Section 20(1) of the Act provides a person who is aggrieved by a decision may apply to the court for a statutory order to review the decision. Click here more information on the Act.

Peak Services Procurement Office can be engaged via:

• State Government Standing Offer Arrangement (DSDMIP-0972-18 – Local Content – Specialist Procurement Services). 
• Local Buy Panel Arrangements for Project Management Services (Contract No. LB279), Business Management Services (Contract No. BUS272), and Engineering & Environmental (Contract No. BUS262). 

For more information on our Technical Consulting Advisory Services, contact Brian Jackson, Director – Consulting and Technical Advisory Services on 0467 767 825.