• Section 1 - Purpose and Context
• Section 2 - Definitions
• Section 3 - Policy Statement
• Part A - Procurement Principles and Core Requirements
• Part B - Procurement Rules
• Table 1 - Procurement Matrix
• Direct Negotiations (Sole Supplier)
• Contract Establishment
• Quotations
• Multiple Engagements
• Purchase Orders
• Contract Management
• Section 4 - Procedures
• Part C - Guidelines

Section 1 - Purpose and Context

(1) The Procurement Policy sets out the principles under which procurement will occur at Western Sydney University (University) and its associated entities. It also outlines the approved methods and processes for procurement.

(2) The purpose of the policy is to set out a strategic approach to the professional management, oversight, coordination and integration of procurement across the University. This policy also supports the management of commercial and supplier risk. 

(3) The policy applies to all activities involving procurement of goods and services undertaken by the University (excluding the exceptions detailed in clause 8) including all general and specified goods and services from external suppliers whether purchased or leased, capitalised or expensed.

(4) The policy conforms with the NSW Government Guidelines on Procurement and complies with all relevant legislation and regulations and should be read in conjunction with the Corporate Credit Card Policy, the Asset Management Policy, the Delegations of Authority Policy, the Records and Archives Management Policy, Digital Services Implementation Policy, Risk Management Policy and other associated policies and procedures.

(5) Procurement Services will manage, administer and support the University's Procurement requirements and are responsible for establishing, amending and reviewing all supporting guidelines, processes, templates and tools to enact this policy.  They are also responsible to monitor and report on compliance to this Policy and associated processes to the Vice-President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer.

Section 2 - Definitions

(6) For the purposes of this policy:

Section 3 - Policy Statement

Part A - Procurement Principles and Core Requirements

(7) Application – this policy applies to the acquisition of goods and services which includes but is not limited to the following categories or circumstances:

1. Information Technology and Digital Services (ITDS) including any related information technology hardware, software and services;
2. Capital works, facilities and associated expenditure;
3. Equipment and consumables, including those used for teaching and research;
4. General goods and services (e.g.: catering, office products, contingent labour, conference bookings etc);
5. Travel and related items (e.g. accommodation, airfares, etc.); and
6. Independent Contractors and Consultants (including recruitment agents).

(8) Exception – The following are excluded from the requirement to comply with this policy:

1. Property – real estate including acquisition, subdivision, disposal, statutory authority charges, mortgages or grants of easements or covenants,
2. Human Resources – determination of benefits, wages and salaries of University employees, and
3. In-house Goods & Services - goods or services developed/provided in-house and paid by internal journal/budget. This includes instances where the University may have received funding from external sources such as a grant, etc.

(9) Core Principles - All Procurement activities must be undertaken in accordance with the University's statutory and regulatory requirements and responsibilities, its policies and procedures, and will align with the underlying principles of the University as stated in its mission, vision, values and Strategic Plan. This encompasses the following core principles:

1. Value for money – including considerations of fitness for purpose, fair market price, whole of life costs, post-delivery support, environmental sustainability, social responsibility, evidence of previous performance or experience, effective warranty and conformity to law as well as other considerations.
2. Probity and equity principles – including open and effective competition, fairness and impartiality, consistency and fairness of process, accountability, transparency, security and confidentiality.
3. Segregation of duties –ensuring appropriate oversight to ensure that probity and equity principles are adhered to.
4. Conflicts of interest – any actual, perceived or potential conflict of interest must be reported and managed in accordance with the Conflict of Interest Policy and the Code of Conduct. Procurement Plans must include a declaration of either no Conflict of Interest or details of any Conflict of Interest.
5. Delegations and approvals – any financial approvals must be provided in accordance with the Delegations of Authority Policy and appropriate funds must be available.  The appropriate Delegate should authorise the commencement of any procurement activity.  Even if an Authorised Delegate has the appropriate delegation, they must not approve their own recommendation in relation to a procurement activity.
6. Gifts and hospitality – where the University or any University staff member receives gifts, extensive hospitality or any other benefits from third parties, including current or prospective Suppliers, the University’s Gifts and Benefit Policy and associated procedures must be applied; and
7. Responsible and Social Procurement –  subject to costs and other considerations, use best endeavours to purchase goods and/or services that are socially, ethically and environmentally friendly and sustainable, including consideration of the disposal of such goods and the complete supply chain. Selecting suppliers that add social, ethical and environmental outcomes and benefits through providing opportunities for indigenous, people with disability, disadvantaged or similar groups should be considered in line with value for money principles. All Procurement must comply with any regulatory or legislative requirements for Responsible and Social Procurement as may be in place from time to time these include but are not limited to Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012, Modern Slavery Act 2018, Australia's Foreign Relations (State and Territory Arrangements) Bill 2020.

(10) Pre-Procurement Risk Assessment – the Authorised Delegate should ensure that a risk assessment is undertaken, in accordance with the Risk Management Policy, prior to the commencement of Procurement.

(11) Probity Plans and Advisors – probity plans and advisers must be used for non-routine Procurement, e.g. relatively high value, complex or high risk. The relevant Procurement Review Committee is responsible for advising on and endorsing the appointment of probity advisers.

(12) Specialist Consultants - Specialist Consultants may be engaged in Procurement activities where specialist advice is required.  Specialist consultants are required to comply with this Policy. Efforts must first be made to identify appropriate in-house expertise and/or advice from other Government or sector agencies which have completed similar Procurement activities and obtain the relevant capacity to meet scope, program and deliverables. Specialist Consultants may sit on Evaluation Panels in a technical advisory capacity only.

(13) Preferred Suppliers - Procurement Services, in consultation with relevant stakeholders, will establish or endorse from time to time Preferred Suppliers which must be used to purchase those specified goods and/or services.

(14) Exemption to Preferred Suppliers – an exemption may be granted to clause (13) Preferred Suppliers, where it can be demonstrated that the current Preferred Supplier is either:

1. not capable of delivering the required Scope of Works; and/or
2. not willing to deliver the required Scope of Works; and/or
3. where a once off exemption has been approved by Procurement Services

(15) Restricted Items – the University has authorised certain units to negotiate and secure contracts for particular goods and/or services on its behalf.  Only those nominated areas are authorised to procure for these items.  These restrictions are approved by the Vice-President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer. Refer to the Procurement Process webpage.

(16) Breaches – staff who breach the provisions of this policy may be subject to disciplinary action for unsatisfactory conduct or misconduct as outlined in the relevant University staff agreement or relevant policies. Such action may result in the withdrawal of delegated authority and/or other disciplinary action.  Serious matters will be reported to the Police and/or the ICAC which potentially could result in civil or criminal proceedings. There is a statutory requirement for the University to report all suspected fraud to the ICAC, irrespective of the amount involved.

(17) Splitting Procurement – it is a breach of the Delegation of Authority Policy and this policy to split a Procurement activity into multiple parts whether, in an attempt to circumvent the requirements of the Procurement Matrix, refer (22) or any other provisions of this policy, or not.

(18) Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 (GIPA) - GIPA mandates certain records to be available to the public.  It is the responsibility of the Delegate to ensure that GIPA requirements are met for Procurement activities and that the GIPA Contract Register is kept up to date with all subsequent Variations. Refer to the Procurement Process webpage.

(19) NSW Government or Procurement Consortiums - the NSW Government and various Higher Education Industry Consortiums enter into contracts for the supply of a range of goods and/or services from time to time.  In some circumstances it may be in the University's best interests to leverage such arrangements.  The Direct Negotiation process should be used in the circumstances where the University would receive a benefit from leveraging such an arrangement.

Part B - Procurement Rules

(20) Standard Procurement Documents and Templates – all procurement activities must be undertaken in accordance with the Procurement Process. Any exceptions to this must be approved by the Director, Procurement Services.

(21) Preferred Suppliers – must first be considered prior to commencing a Procurement activity, refer (13).

(22) Procurement Matrix - provides the minimum requirements for procurement activities, and should be used as a guide as to the high-level Procurement Process required.  Procurement activities identified as high risk may have additional governance requirements.

Table 1 - Procurement Matrix

(23) Scope of Work – business units must, in consultation with Procurement Services, develop a detailed scope or specification of the goods or services to be delivered.  This should include a detailed description of the goods or services, minimum quality standards, minimum warranties, milestones or deadlines, any requirements relating to delivery, installation or acceptance.

(24) Procurement Plan – procurement activities in excess of $50k require the completion of the Procurement process for approval prior to any procurement activity commencing.  The Procurement process must include evaluation methodology and include Conflict of Interest declarations completed by all parties with an interest or involved with the Procurement.

(25) Procurement for Programs of Work – where the individual Procurement forms part of a wider program of activities, as part of the establishment of the program, a procurement strategy should be developed by the business unit and agreed with Procurement Services.  This overarching strategy should be referenced in all related Procurement activities.

(26) Tender Threshold - if it is estimated that the expected total cost of the Procurement activity may be anticipated to be close to the Tender Threshold in the Procurement Matrix, refer (22 – Table 1), a Tender process is required.

(27) Tender Administration – all Tenders must be administered by Procurement Services using the Tender processes. A Tender Activity is where:

1. A Scope of Work is issued to market, 
2. Suppliers are requested to provide information regarding their experience, capability and capacity to complete the Scope of Works, 
3. Suppliers provide a fixed price or schedule of rates to complete the scope of works, 
4. Responses are sought from at least 3 Suppliers (unless there is a valid reason approved by Procurement Services), 
5. There is an established schedule of relevant cut-off dates, and 
6. the responses are evaluated according to pre-determined criteria. 

(28) Emergency Works - In cases of Emergency, where it is not practical to adhere to this policy in advance of the Procurement occurring then, as soon as practical after the Emergency, the relevant Procurement documentation and processes must be completed.

Direct Negotiations (Sole Supplier)

(29) There may be situations where it is in the University's interests to deal directly with one supplier (Sole Supplier).  Accepted circumstances where this could occur are where there is:

1. only one available supplier for the goods and/or services;
2. an ongoing or associated project and there is a compelling case to extend the Scope of Work with a specified Supplier;
3. a legitimate reason to renew or rollover a Contracted Supplier due to relationship value, transition or design considerations and/or other valid reasons that are in the University's best interests, or
4. a need to purchase scientific or technical assets or equipment and/or accessories valued at more than $150K that is required to match existing assets for research or teaching continuity.

(30) Tangible and objective evidence of these circumstances existing must be supplied to Procurement Services for assessment and approval. Such evidence includes a copy of the OEM certificate.

(31) Formal approval to enter direct negotiations must be sought in advance via the specified Procurement process and must be authorised by Procurement Services and the appropriate Delegates.

(32) If the value of the proposed procurement is greater than $150k (Ex GST) then Direct Negotiation must also be approved by the Vice-President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer or the relevant Deputy Vice-Chancellor and must be submitted for noting to the relevant Procurement Review Committee.

Contract Establishment

(33) Standard Terms and Conditions - Procurement Services must ensure that the appropriate Standard Form Contract template is included in all RF(x) documentation, to inform all invited suppliers of the terms and conditions under which they will be required to contract, and in order to assess the level of Suppliers’ compliance with the University's Standard Form Contract as part of the evaluation process. No supplier can commence work until a fully executed Contract is in place unless prior approval is provided by Procurement Services.

(34) Standard Terms and Conditions  – the Authorised Delegate and Procurement Services must use standard contract templates or bespoke contracts approved by the Office of General Counsel.  Appropriate early consultation must be undertaken with the Office of General Counsel.

(35) Contract Establishment – Procurement Services will facilitate the establishment, negotiation and execution of the final Contract between the University and the selected Supplier, in conjunction with the Authorised  Delegate and, as appropriate, the Office of General Counsel.

(36) Mandatory Terms – the Mandatory Terms must be adhered to at all times.

Quotations

(37) Quotations (Seeking and Assessing) – should be sought in line with the Procurement Process specified by Procurement Services.

(38) Quotations (Approving) – for Procurement between $50k to $250k (ex GST), the Procurement Process is required to be followed for approval by the relevant Delegate and endorsement by the Director, Procurement Services to ensure the required process including Supplier selection has been followed prior to purchase.

Multiple Engagements

(39) Multiple Engagements – multiple engagements cannot be undertaken for a substantially similar Scope of Work with the same Supplier unless they are a Preferred Supplier, or unless they meet the following criteria:

1. Each part of the works is issued to market in accordance with the provisions of this policy and it can be clearly demonstrated that the Supplier presented the best value for money option for each part of the works that it is engaged to perform;
2. The requirements for Direct Negotiation (Sole Supplier) have been satisfied; and
3. A sufficient period of time has passed since the Supplier was engaged to perform similar works (usually 12 months).

Purchase Orders

(40) Purchase Orders – Suppliers must not be engaged to commence any Services or to provide any goods without first being issued with a valid Purchase Order. Purchase Orders are required to be in place prior to a Scope of Work being performed, in order for invoices to be paid, except in exceptional circumstances if approved by Procurement Services. Invoices issued by Contracted Suppliers musthave a valid University Purchase Order reference number that is referenced on their invoice or it will not be paid.

(41) Cancellation/Variation of Purchase Order – previously issued Purchase Orders can only be cancelled or varied by Procurement Services.  Requests must be made in the form required (as outlined in the Procurement Process) and must be authorised by an appropriate Authorised Delegate. Where variations are greater than 20% of the original Purchase Order value and the accumulative value of the Purchase order exceeds $50,000 then approval is required by the appropriate Procurement Review Committee.

Procurement Committees

(42) Procurement Review Committees (PRC) – Committees will be established to oversee Procurement proposal that exceed the Tender Thresholds and/or any activities that result in a Tender activity, as well as Direct Negotiations greater than $150k (Ex GST) and will meet regularly as required.

(43) Composition of the PRC – three PRCs will be formed to deal with:

1. capital and facility management (CFM) Procurement;
2. information technology and digital services (ITDS) Procurement; and
3. other Procurement (Other).

(44) Membership of PRC CFM - shall consist of the Director, Procurement Services(Chair), Vice-President, Operations and Commercial (or their nominated representative) and at least one other independent member nominated by the Vice-President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer.

(45) Membership of the PRC ITDS – shall consist of the Director, Procurement Services(Chair),  Chief Information and Digital Officer (or their nominated representative)and at least one other independent member nominated by the Vice-President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer.

(46) Membership of the PRC Other – shall consist of the Director, Procurement Services(Chair), Senior Leadership Group representative responsible for the Procurement activity (or their nominated representative) and at least one other independent member nominated by the Vice-President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer.

(47) Administration of the PRC – Procurement Services will administer the agenda, minutes and manage submissions to the PRC.

(48) Submissions to the PRC - the relevant Senior Project Representative of the matter being considered by the PRC must attend for the purposes of presenting their Procurement proposal for consideration. Submissions to the PRC for Tender approvals, should include all relevant documentation, including but not limited to evaluation panel membership, evaluation criteria and specifications in the form specified by Procurement Services.  Submissions to the PRC for Variation approvals, should include all relevant documentation, including but not limited to, copy of the Contract, document evidencing the proposed Variation, documents detailing any previously approved Variations and the proposed draft documentation to vary the Contract.

(49) Independent Experts - the Chair may appoint other independent members where specific subject matter experts are required.

(50) Quorum - the Procurement Review Committee quorum is three.

(51) Tender Approvals - all Tender activities must be approved by the relevant PRC prior to issue of the Tender.

(52) Tender Evaluation Committees (TEC) – a TEC will be established for each Tender activity.  The TEC will comprise the evaluation panel members that have been approved by the PRC and will be responsible for ensuring adherence to this Policy and associated processes as well as: approving the Tender documentation to be issued to market, performing the tender evaluation, approving the tender evaluation report and providing a recommended outcome of the Tender to the PRC for approval.

(53) Conflict of Interest – all PRC and TEC committee members and any other attendees must declare any conflict of interest in accordance with the Conflict of Interest Policy, prior to participating. 

Contract Management

(54)  Contract Management – Contracted Suppliers and agreements with Contracted Suppliers must be managed in accordance with the University's Contract Management Framework and Delegations of Authority Policy.

(55) Scope of Work Compliance – it is the responsibility of the University Authorised Delegate managing the Contracted Supplier to ensure that all Goods and/or Services are delivered, implemented, provided and/or received in accordance with the required contractual arrangements and obligations

(56) Variations – Any variations to the contracted Scope of Work should be immediately assessed for financial, commercial and operational impact to the University.

1. a clear summary of the adjustments to the Scope of Works;
2. agreed adjustments to remuneration (with supporting detailed information);
3. and any agreed changes to timeframe.

(57) Contract Review – regular reviews and meetings will be implemented with Contracted Suppliers to ensure that contractual arrangements are being managed effectively and for the benefit of the University, as well as to ensure commercial and operational risks are being appropriately managed and any commercial and/or performance issues addressed.

(58) Contract Extensions – if an extension clause is included in the Contracted Suppliers agreement, and the value of the initial Procurement activity has been approved by the appropriate Authorised Delegate including that extension value, then the extension can be progressed without any additional Procurement activity required. If not, then any extension must be treated as a new Procurement activity.  A Contract extension must be executed in a manner consistent with the original Contract and the relevant Delegate for the Total Cost of Ownership, including the original contract and any accumulated Contract extensions or variations must authorise. If in doubt, the relevant University staff should consult with Procurement Services.

(59) Cost Benefit Analysis – regular reviews should be undertaken to ensure that any benefits determined during Procurement are realised throughout the life of the Contracted Supplier activities.  This may require a cost benefit analysis or other comparative analysis to be undertaken of any Procurement activity and/or regular reviews by Procurement Services.

Section 4 - Procedures

(60) Refer to the Procurement Process.

Part C - Guidelines

(61) Nil.