Aust Govt urged to include local firms in government tenders

27 Oct 2010

Source  ZDNet
The Federal government should introduce procurement rules that mandate main parties involved in government tenders have a local business element in their bids, according to a report by the Innovation Review Steering Committee.
"While there is widespread acknowledgement that governments are legally prohibited from biasing procurement decisions towards local providers, a strong expectation remains that government contracts should provide a key source of revenue for innovating businesses," the report said.

The review participants had discussed a number of approaches to local businesses in government procurement including rapid prototyping, development and evaluation, which is used by the Australian Defence Force. The review participants decided that a change to government procurement practice would best foster local innovation. "The overall aim of the amendment would be to support the conditions for innovative local enterprise to flourish at the SME [small- to medium-sized enterprise] level ... this could be achieved by requiring prime contractors (regardless of their nationality or size) to specify a 'local content inclusion' plan in their bids," the report suggested.

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