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Government procurement arrangements

You must use a government procurement arrangement, such as a contract or scheme, unless you have an exemption.

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You must always use a whole-of-government contract where one exists, unless you have an exemption.
Sometimes you must also use a whole-of-government scheme.
Where there isn’t a whole-of-government contract or scheme to use, you can piggyback on other agencies' arrangements.
You can use the existing whole-of-government contracts and schemes for procurements covered by PBD-2019-05 Enforceable Procurement Provisions.

Contracts and schemes are available to NSW Government agencies. Some contracts are also available to eligible non-agency buyers and other government jurisdictions.

When to use whole-of-government contracts

The general rule is that whole-of-government contracts are mandatory. That is, you must use a whole-of-government contract when one’s available to you.

However, there may be exemptions based on the size or nature of your procurement, or your chosen supplier (for example, Aboriginal businesses or small- to medium-sized enterprises).

A whole-of-government contract appoints one or more suppliers to supply goods or services to any government agency. Usually, a contract runs for a specific period (such as 3 years), and may have options for a 1-2 year extension.

View the list of NSW Government contracts.

When to use whole-of-government schemes

NSW Government schemes enable you to choose from a list of prequalified suppliers. Some schemes are mandatory, while others are optional.

Schemes do not generally include pricing information, so you'll need to make sure you meet the 5 procurement objectives of NSW Government, including value for money, when seeking quotes from prequalified suppliers.

PBD-2021-04 Approved procurement arrangements explains which schemes are mandatory and how many quotes to seek.

View the list of NSW Government schemes.

We encourage you to use schemes even when you don’t have to.

Some of the key benefits of schemes for buyers are:

access to a list of registered suppliers, who are likely to have that specific procurement capability
an easier, streamlined, and competitive tender process.

There are also advantages for suppliers, including:

simplified application processes
access to targeted opportunities
reduced cost of doing business with government.

A scheme may cover a wide scope of goods and services. However, suppliers will usually be authorised to supply only particular categories of goods and services within the scheme.

What to do if there's no whole-of-government arrangement

Even when there’s no whole-of-government contract, you must check whether your agency or cluster is bound by any standing offers, panel contracts or other procurement arrangements.

You should also check whether any agency- or cluster-specific pre-existing contracts, panels or schemes meet your needs.

If there are none, you may be able to use another agency’s contracts, panels or schemes through a piggybacking clause. This could help you access savings and volume discounts, and tap into another agency’s best practice.

Read more about piggybacking on another agency’s contracts (multi-agency access).

Whenever you carry out your own procurement, you must comply with:

Understand enforceable procurement provisions (covered procurements)

Enforceable procurement provisions (EPP) apply to procurements of goods and services over a certain value, as outlined in PBD-2019-05 enforceable procurement provisions. These procurements are also called covered procurements.

Enforceable procurement provisions are legal requirements under Australia’s international procurement agreements. If your procurement is subject to EPP, you must make sure you comply with any rules for selecting and engaging suppliers under the contracts or schemes.

Whole-of-government contracts, procurement lists and schemes are available for procurements covered by EPP.