STRATEGIC PROCUREMENT
The Strategic Procurement Directorate was established to focus on the coordination, aggregation and standardisation of procurement across DET and schools. By developing strategies to establish “pick & buy” arrangements and other buying mechanisms (reducing the level of ad hoc buying), efficient savings can be directed to service delivery and educational outcomes.
The Directorate can provide assistance with:
The Strategic Procurement Directorate provides a focal point within DET to ensure consistent advice and support to those areas that award grants and funding to community organisations. It also supports the Director General’s delegation under the State Supply Commission’s Partial Exemption Policy to minimise risk to the Department.
The Department of Treasury and Finance (DTF) have a number of procurement professionals working on behalf of the Department of Education and Training (DET) who can help you purchase the products and services that are needed to deliver educational outcomes.
Our role is to:
The Government Contract Directory: Education and Training Edition provides an overview of whole of Government contracts (Common Use Arrangements) and DET contracts. For each contract there is a link to a contact person and a buyers guide. Please note the contact details for DET ICT contracts in particular. The Education and Training Contract Directory can be accessed at http://www.dtf.wa.gov.au/cms/schools/schoolse.pdf
Back to topThe Department's Partial Exemption provides for the delegation of purchasing and contracting to various officers in the Department.
PURCHASING AUTHORITY REGISTER
The indicated positions in the Purchasing Authority Register can approve the purchase of goods and services under the State Supply Commission Act to the nominated values only.
CONTRACTING AUTHORITY REGISTER
The Contracting Authority Register shows the various processes involved in buying goods and services and the authorised officers who can undertake those processes for the nominated values.
The first questions you must ask once you have identified what you want to buy is:
Is it available on a Common Use Arrangement?
If it is – you must use that Common Use Arrangement.
Is it ICT equipment for which mandatory contracts have been established?
If it is – you must refer to the ICT purchasing contracts published at: intranet.det.wa.edu.au/groups/ict_purchasing/
The Buying Journey Flowchart will explain each step you must take.
Schools in regional areas should contact their Regional Buying Centre or Client Procurement Services for advice.
Originally developed as a purchasing resource for Principals of new schools, the Schools Buying Kit is now available for anyone to download to use as an aid when making decisions to buy goods and services.
The Schools Buying Kit is designed in such a way that the user is able to; navigate from one page to the next using links, open up a web browser to external websites and compose an email to a relevant contact. It can also be downloaded (PDF document) and printed in hard copy format.
Download the Schools Buying Kit now!
The State Supply Commission’s (SSC) policies provide a framework for goods and services procurement that reflects best practice principles and arrangements. The Department of Education and Training must ensure that these policy requirements are used for buying all goods and services.
State Supply Commission polices can be viewed at www.ssc.wa.gov.au/procurement02.asp
The following table sets out the minimum requirements for the procurement method that a public authority must use for the procurement of goods or services when not purchasing from a common use arrangement.
Please note that all threshold values include GST.
Monetary Threshold |
Minimum Requirements |
Up to $5,000 |
Direct purchase. |
$5,001 - $20,000 |
Request sufficient verbal quotations. |
$20,001 - $150,000 |
Request sufficient written quotations. |
Above $150,000 |
Open tender through a public advertisement. |
Up to $5,000 you can make a direct purchase.
Between $5,000 and $20,000 verbal quotations (usually 3 - 5) must be sought. You must record on the Verbal Quotation Form the names of the suppliers you have approached and the price they quoted. The basis on which you made your decision must be recorded and placed on file.
Between $20,000 and $150,000 written quotations must be sought. Client Procurement Services must be involved with all purchases above $20,000. Please refer to DET’s ICT contracts area for advice on ICT contracts. A written quotation ensures that you go through a balanced evaluation process and that the Department gets the best outcome it can get. Client Procurement Services will help you develop the Request document, evaluate the offers and award the contract.
$150,000 and above public tenders must be called. Client Procurement Services must be involved with all public tenders. Please refer to DET’s ICT contracts area for advice on ICT contracts. A public tender process means that your requirement is advertised in the West Australian and on the Government’s Tenders WA website. Client Procurement Services will help you develop the Request document, evaluate the offers and award the contract.
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A Common Use Arrangement (CUA) is a whole-of-government standing offer arrangement, awarded to a single supplier or a panel of suppliers for the provision of specific goods or services commonly used within government. CUAs are aggregated supply arrangements that enable public authorities and other specified parties to source products and/or services.
A CUA is an efficient buying tool that streamlines the purchasing process between public authorities and suppliers. When orders are placed using a CUA, the standing offer is accepted and a binding contract commences for that particular quantity of products or services.
The majority of CUAs are mandatory and all public authorities must use these arrangements as their exclusive source of supply for the goods and/or services covered by the CUA.
In keeping with the government’s commitment to the Buy Local Policy, public authorities located in country areas have the discretion to purchase products and/or services from local suppliers. As such, if a mandatory CUA features a Perth-based supplier then public authorities may choose to buy from a local or regional supplier offering value for money.
A Buyers’ Guide is developed for each CUA and all purchases made against a CUA must be made in accordance with the relevant Buyers’ Guide.
Refer to the Government Contract Directory: Education and Training Edition for details of the most commonly used CUAs for and relevant DET contracts: http://www.dtf.wa.gov.au/cms/schools/schoolse.pdf
Please note in particular the contact details for DET ICT contracts.
Requests for Exemption must be made to the Director Strategic Procurement before you undertake a purchase or give a commitment to buy. Requests for Exemption must be made on the approved templates below. The Request for Exemption must be justified and provide proof of research to support the request. Requests for Exemptions are required in the following instances:
If you are based in Central Office or another location with access to TRIM, the Exemption Requests must be TRIM'd before forwarding to the Director Strategic Procurement.
Contract management has been identified as an ongoing issue for public authorities and is viewed very much as a weak link in the procurement process.
Contract management refers to those processes undertaken after contract award that in summary, ensure that the Department is optimising the effectiveness of the outcomes of the contracting process. On average the Department awards approximately 100 contracts per year many of which run for up to 5 years.
A Contract Management Framework has recently been developed for the Department.
The purpose of the Framework is to provide a risk management strategy to ensure that the:
The aim is for all officers managing contracts to have had some contract management training and to know where assistance can be sought for all contract management issues.
For further information please contact Lian Borlace on 9264 4285
BUYING IN EDUCATION AND TRAINING
What do you need to know to buy effectively? We will talk about: Where to find buying information, who to contact, buying policies, Common Use Arrangements (CUAs), purchasing cards, as well as strategies for obtaining best value for money.
We plan to present this session at least once a month this year. The target audience is anyone who buys anything.
Each session will provide a lot of opportunities to ask questions.
If you're unable to attend any of our monthly BUYING IN EDUCATION AND TRAINING sessions, you can download the PowerPoint Presentation yourself and learn about the proper procedures and rules for Buying in Education.
CONTRACT MANAGEMENT
How do you manage a contract effectively? What does the contract development process involve? How do you minimise and manage risks that arise? Our monthly sessions will teach you all this and more.
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Our complete schedule of training sessions for 2009 can be found here: Calendar of Events.
Contact Evana Ho on 9264 5567 or email evana.ho@det.wa.edu.au to register for either the Buying in Education and Training or Contract Management sessions. If you are unable to get to a session, we will come to you! Contact Evana Ho to discuss your training requirements.
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The Department of Treasury and Finance operates several Regional Buying Centres that provide specialist support to government agencies undertaking regional procurement. Covering the Mid West, South West, Great Southern and Goldfields/Esperance regions, the centres coordinate and streamline government purchasing in these areas and encourage agencies to source goods and services from local suppliers where appropriate.
The Regional Buying Centres offer a range of services to regional schools and District Education Offices. These include:
Further information can be accessed at www.dtf.wa.gov.au/cms/pro_content.asp?ID=1850
Visit your local Regional Buying Centre Website:
Great Southern can be contacted on: 9892 6502
For Advice on ICT purchasing: intranet.det.wa.edu.au/groups/ict_purchasing/
Need help getting quotes? If so, please contact Paul Arangio on 9264 5134 who will provide you with advice and point you in the right direction.
If time is an issue for you, quotes can be called on behalf of your school for purchases which have a value of between $1,000 and $20,000. Simply complete the Procurement Description section of the Verbal Quotation Form and email it to: schoolbuying@det.wa.edu.au.
Procedures for this initiative can be found here.
Many schools undertake domestic and international school excursions. Travel includes both domestic and international travel for students and teachers. Excursion funds are usually administered through school accounts and may include contributions from the Department of Education and Training, the school, the Parents and Citizens’ Associations, students and teachers. Advice from the State Supply Commission has given us a better understanding of how these excursions should be managed. Client Procurement Services has developed templates to assist in this process. If you need help in planning a school excursion complete the School Excursion Questionnaire and forward to Client Procurement Services.
Parent funded excursion
Where the excursion is funded entirely by parents, P&Cs or other private sources, a competitive process should be undertaken. A quotation from at least two travel agents is recommended to demonstrate value for money.
The School Excursion Request for Quotation and School Excursion Evaluation templates are attached to help you obtain these quotes.
Parent/School/Government funded excursion
In some instances, a school excursion will include funding from both parents as well as the school.
Where the school/government funded component is more than $5,000 but less than $150,000, a Request for Exemption from a written competitive process may be made to the Director Strategic Procurement. Contact Client Procurement Services for advice on this process.
If an exemption is approved, a minimum of two quotations from travel agents will be required to demonstrate value for money. The School Excursion Request for Quotation and School Excursion Evaluation templates must be used to document the quotations and the buying decision.
Where the school/government funded component is more than $150,000, a Request for Exemption can be made to the Director Strategic Procurement or a public tender process can be undertaken.
School/Government funded excursion
Where a school excursion is entirely funded by school or government funding, a competitive process that complies with the State Supply Commission policies must be undertaken.
Please contact Client Procurement Services for assistance on 9264 4712.
Back to topThe Procurement Practice Guide provides an effective ‘how to’ framework for public sector contracting for products and/or services. Understanding and adhering to these guidelines will help you achieve efficient purchasing outcomes.
Please view the Introduction to the contents of the Guide.
For further assistance Client Procurement Services can be contacted 9264 4712.
Our Purchasing team undertakes the following work for the DET:
For assistance, please contact: purchasers@det.wa.edu.au
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On 16 December 2008, the Government announced a significant reform of the Department of Housing and Works.
The major change is the Department's separation into two distinct service delivery areas and the movement of the ‘works’ activities into a division of the Department of Treasury and Finance as Building Management and Works.
Any purchasing that relates to school minor works, buildings and grounds maintenance, playground equipment and installations are covered under the Public Works Act and must involve Building Management and Works.
Contact information for Building Management Works can be found in the Schools Buying Kit.