We spend over $250 million annually on goods, works and services.
We aim to:
- achieve value for money for ratepayers
- conduct activities in a fair and ethical manner
- support local business
- support skills and training of suppliers.
Our Procurement Policy sets out its broad purchasing principles and objectives.
This guide is to help new and existing suppliers to do business with Council. This guide contains the following information:
Methods of procurement
Depending on the level of expenditure, we are required to use different methods of procurement to ensure legislative compliance. All prices quoted in this guide are GST exclusive.
Please note: If adherence to Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S) requirements is relevant to the services provided by a supplier, those suppliers must have an OH&S management system which ensures compliance with all of the duties of an employer under the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004.
Only suppliers we deem to have acceptable OH&S systems will be considered for Council work.
Quotations
We operate a decentralised purchasing system and requests for quotations may come from any of our departments.
Quotations are sought when there is no existing contract and is based on threshold limits:
- all purchases below $25,000 - a minimum of one written quotation
- Transactional, Leveraged, Focused and Strategic procurement $25,000 to $300,000 - a minimum of three written quotations
- Leveraged procurement $300,000 to $500,000 - a minimum of five written quotations
- All procurement exceeding the specified thresholds above Open Market Tender.
Tenders/contracts
Public tenders must be invited for:
- Transactional, Focused and Strategic procurement above $300,000+
- Leveraged procurement above - $500,000+ (excluding GST)
Each tender will have a Council Officer nominated as a primary contact for all enquiries.
Tenders are advertised the Times and when required in local newspapers and on eProcure.
Full information and documentation in relation to tenders is available on eProcure.
This is a free service where potential suppliers can register to receive emails on relevant new tenders and view results on previously awarded tenders. eProcure also allows suppliers to submit questions on-line and download/upload tender documentation, and provide an electronic response by completing the tender questionnaire template online.
Tenders are evaluated on a number of criteria that are outlined in the tender documentation. In order to assist in the evaluation process, we request you supply as much relevant material as possible to support your submission and that your submission is sent in the format provided within the tender documentation.
We have established a suite of formal contract documents. These include general conditions for:
Contracts are awarded for a set period of time and may sometimes require a security deposit.
Registered suppliers
We maintain a register of Registered Suppliers. This register is a record of all suppliers who have undertaken works, service or supply to Council.
It also holds current records of all insurances, licences, safety documentation and service details and is updated regularly.
New suppliers are only added to this register after meeting the criteria of a tender or quotation process.
To become a registered supplier, you will need to register your interest on our hosted e-tendering portal eProcure.
Suppliers remain on the register unless they cease to meet our requirements.
Expression of interest
We may invite expressions of interest prior to inviting tenders and these will be advertised both in the newspapers and on eProcure.
Successful respondents will be short listed and invited to tender for Council projects without further advertising.
Other
We may also access the services of successful tenderers through collaborative arrangements with tendering agents or State Government contracts.
Arrangement types
Purchase orders
When you are successful with your quotation and you have been added to our payment system, you will receive a purchase order with a reference number. This purchase order and number is essential to ensure prompt payment.
Purchase orders will be forwarded to you electronically. Suppliers are not to provide goods or services without the receipt of an official City of Greater Geelong Purchase Order.
Once you have the purchase order you can supply goods, works or services to Council.
Our purchase order includes supplier name, ABN details, contact details, details of goods, works or services to be provided and the price which is GST exclusive. GST will be added when the account is paid.
Our standard trading terms and conditions be found on our website: conditions of purchase.
We have established a suite of specific purchase order conditions which are to be used if nominated during the quotation phase. These include purchase order contracts for:
Suppliers are encouraged to ensure they understand these terms and conditions and assess any impact to their business.
If a purchase order is part of a contractual arrangement, the conditions of contract will over-ride the conditions of the purchase order.
Contracts and letters of acceptance
When you have submitted a successful tender you will receive a Letter of Acceptance detailing requirements prior to starting works or the supply of goods and services. This may include copies of current insurances, safety plans, environmental plans, traffic management plans, relevant licences and accreditations along with any security deposits.
The Contract will be forwarded to the successful supplier/contractor for electronic signature, after which an electronic version will be sent back to the supplier once the City has countersigned the Agreement. The provision of works, goods or services cannot start until contract has been fully executed.
Invoicing and payments
Our standard payment terms are 30 days after the dated invoice month (nett).
Please ensure that the purchase order or relevant contract number is quoted on the invoice. Use this number as a reference in any payment enquiries. Not providing the purchase order number on your invoice may mean delay to payments made to you after the delivery of the goods, services or works.
Our preferred method of payment is electronic funds transfer. For prompt payment, please ensure that all your details including ownership changes, trading names, insurances and bank details are up to date.
Common questions
Our Australian Business Number is 18 374 210 672.
Suppliers must demonstrate that they have an implemented Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) management system that is relevant to the goods, works or services that are provided.
The following organisations can assist with developing and reviewing OH&S management systems:
This may not have occurred due to one of the following reasons:
- you do not have a Council purchase order number
- you haven’t quoted the purchase order or contract reference number on your invoice
- your company name does not match the ABN number on the invoice
- you may need to contact the Council officer who engaged you in the first place.
You need to contact the Council officer who engaged you in the first place.
Your contact details may have changed please contact us to check or update your details.
Our procurement policy states that we shall support business in the local community where possible.
Where practicable, we may choose to evaluate tenders with a 10% Economic Contribution to the Geelong Region.
We have an established supplier database, suppliers can only be added to this database if successfully awarded work via a tender or quotation process.
We require certain information from you, including:
- business name
- contact details
- ABN number
- banking details.
We also require appropriate up to date insurances, safety systems, licences etc. relevant to the works and services being undertaken.
Only suppliers that satisfy these requirements will be considered.