Minister Wong endorses CIPSA 6th PSPF conference in May

The Federal Minister for Finance and Deregulation, Ms Penny Wong, has formally endorsed the 6th CIPSA Public Sector Procurement Forum (PSPF) to be held in Canberra on the 24th and 25th of May this year.

“The Forum is an important event to being together procurement officers and other stakeholders from a range of jurisdictions to be informed, learn and discuss contemporary procurement issues,” Minister Wong said.

“It contributes to the developing professionalism of those involved in procurement, whether directly or indirectly,” she said.

The Australian Government have continually recognised the importance of procurement. Over the last year, it has implemented whole-of-government contracts for air travel, delivering $40 million in savings to the budget annually and better prices to agencies. 

“We have also introduced a standard suite of procurement documents for purchases less than $80,000 and looked to support the growth and capability of indigenous businesses, to name just a few initiatives,” Ms Wong said. 

“The standard suite of procurement documents, in particular, will not only simplify the procurement process for Government but, importantly, will ease the burden on businesses selling to government, as over 70 per cent of the contracts reported on AusTender are below $80,000 in value,” she said. 

These initiatives continue the Government’s commitment to achieve value for money, reduce red tape and use procurement judiciously to deliver elements of other government policies. 

The Australian Government has about 81,000 contracts (above $10,000 in value), worth nearly $43 billion, awarded in 2009-10 to some 17,000 suppliers. This figure includes nearly $14 billion awarded to small to medium enterprises.