Construction industry procurement

In NSW, construction industry procurements work a little differently to others. We outline some of the key differences.
On this page
What you need to know
  1. Construction contracts work a little differently to goods and services contracts.
  2. As a buyer, you have a different accreditation scheme and different contract limits.
  3. Covered procurements involving construction contracts have further requirements still.
  4. You also have more obligations when it comes to reporting on WHS, industrial relations, environmental management and other factors.

Different rules apply to construction procurement

Construction industry procurement works a little differently to other procurements. That’s only natural when you consider the contract values are often higher, the margin for error lower and the number of suppliers on any one project often greater.

For this reason, there are often different rules that apply to construction procurement. We outline some of the key differences on this page.

Read more about construction procurement processes and contract templates.

Construction procurement has its own accreditation program

Accredited agencies have greater autonomy to procure construction services than unaccredited agencies.

Read more about accreditation for construction procurement.

Construction threshold for enforceable procurement provisions

If your contract is over a certain threshold it may be subject to Australia’s trade agreements as a ‘covered procurement’. The current threshold for construction procurements is $9,584,000 (excluding GST).

Covered procurements are subject to the rules contained in PBD-2019-05 Enforceable Procurement Provisions. These impact how you procure.

Find out more about covered procurements.

Reporting requirements for construction procurement

Construction contracts often come with reporting requirements when it comes to:

  • Aboriginal participation
  • apprentices
  • WHS
  • environmental management
  • quality management
  • industrial relations.

Read more about your other obligations for construction contracts.