Re-tender Prep Kit

Understand the current contract

The notice is the public record of a contract already awarded. Read it before you decide the work is worth preparing for.

• Read the contract notice. Note the agency, the current supplier, the value, the start and end dates, the category, and the procurement method. A notice is not an invitation to bid. How to read an AusTender contract notice.
• Treat the published value as the maximum over the life of the contract, not a yearly spend. The figure on the notice is the one AusTender published. Dividing it by the length of the contract is only a rough sense of scale, not the price of the next round.
• Write down the end date. It is not a promise that the work stops that day, and it is not a promise the agency will buy the work again. When federal contracts end.
• Note any extension options and, if the notice has one, the maximum end date. In Commonwealth contracts, using an option is usually at the Commonwealth's discretion. If the end date already matches the maximum end date, there may be no option left.
• Check the amendments. A later end date or a higher value can mean an option is already being used. Significant amendments are reported on the notice.
• Note whether the last buy was an open tender, a limited tender, or a purchase from a panel. A standing offer number, even beside the words open tender, can mean only panel members were invited. The wider chance is often the next panel refresh. Open tenders, limited tenders and panels.