A contract notice is the public record of a contract an agency has already entered into. It is not an invitation to bid. It reports what was bought, from whom, for how much, and for how long. If you are new to AusTender, start with what AusTender is and what you can find on it.

Non-corporate Commonwealth entities must report contracts valued at $10,000 or more on AusTender within 42 days of entering into them (CPRs paragraph 7.18 (opens in a new tab)). Prescribed corporate Commonwealth entities have higher reporting thresholds.

The fields, top to bottom

These are the labels on a notice, with definitions from the Contract Notice data dictionary (opens in a new tab).

  • CN ID. The notice's unique number. A reported amendment adds a suffix, so CN1234-A1 is the first amendment to CN1234.
  • Agency. The entity responsible for the contract.
  • Publish Date. When the notice appeared on AusTender. It is not the start date.
  • Category. A goods and services category from the UNSPSC code set, chosen by the agency to reflect the contract's main purpose. Similar work can sit in different categories, so search more than one.
  • Execution Date. The date the contract was signed. It can differ from both the publish date and the start date.
  • Contract Period. The start and end dates. The end date is when the work is expected to be finished. It does not include extension options that have not been used yet.
  • Extension Options. How many options to extend the contract were built in when it was signed.
  • Max End Date. The latest date the contract could run to if every extension option is used. Compare it with the end date to see how much room is left.
  • Contract Value (AUD). The value of the contract. More on this below.
  • Description. A short description written by the agency.
  • Procurement Method. Open tender, limited tender, or prequalified tender, based on how the arrangement was set up.
  • SON ID or ATM ID. If shown, the standing offer (panel) the contract was made under, or the approach to market it came from.
  • Was an Australian business engaged? Whether the supplier is an Australian business.
  • Suppliers Invited. How many suppliers the agency approached, where reported.
  • Limited Tender Condition. For some limited tenders, the condition in the Commonwealth Procurement Rules (CPRs) the agency relied on. Some notices show an exemption instead. Our guide to limited-tender reasons explains how to read it.
  • Confidentiality - Contract and Confidentiality - Outputs. Whether the contract has confidentiality clauses, and whether information produced under it is confidential. When there are clauses, the notice lists the reasons, such as costing or profit information.
  • Consultancy. Whether all or part of the contract is a consultancy, with a reason when it is.
  • Agency Reference ID. The agency's own reference number for the contract.
  • Supplier Details. The supplier's name, town or city, postcode, state or territory, country, and ABN.

Contract value: a lifetime figure, not yearly spend

The value is the total committed over the whole life of the contract, including GST. It is not a yearly figure. A three-year contract worth $300,000 is closer to $100,000 a year.

The first value reported does not include options or extensions that have not been used yet. When they are used, the agency reports an amendment and the value goes up. Once a notice has been amended, AusTender shows the current value with the original value beside it.

Amendments

Agencies must report an amendment within 42 days when it changes the reported value by $10,000 or more, when smaller unreported amendments add up to $10,000 or more, or when it brings an unreported contract up to the reporting threshold (paragraph 7.19). Each amendment is listed on the notice with its own ID and a short reason, such as a variation or an extension.

Amendments are often the most useful part of a notice. A later end date or a higher value can mean the agency has already used its options, so the contract may run longer than first reported. A long run of extensions can also mean a re-tender is overdue, or that the agency prefers to keep the current supplier.

Contracts made under panels

Panels and similar arrangements are standing offers. Agencies must report standing offers on AusTender within 42 days and keep the details current (paragraph 7.20). Each purchase from a panel is its own contract, and non-corporate Commonwealth entities report those at $10,000 or more as contract notices (Department of Finance (opens in a new tab)).

One detail catches people out. For a purchase from a standing offer, officials should report the method used to set up the standing offer itself (paragraph 9.13 (opens in a new tab)). So "Open tender" on a panel purchase can mean the panel was set up by open tender, not that this piece of work was advertised. In that case, the next chance to compete may be the panel refresh.

Once a notice looks worth chasing, the guide to preparing for a re-tender 6 to 12 months out covers what to do next.

Contract Horizon reads these notices for you. It lists federal contracts ending in the next 3 to 12 months, with the agency, supplier, value, and end date, and an open or limited badge on every row. Every plan, including Free, shows the extension timeline and estimates of how long the supplier has held the work. A free account also lets you save a search, get a weekly digest, and put matching end dates in your calendar. Pro and Team add the limited-tender reason in plain words and the re-tender score. The pricing page sets out what each plan includes.

Contract Horizon is an independent reading of the public record. The contract notice on AusTender is always the source to check.