1. Disclosure and compliance - Australian Federal Police National... · FOR INTERNAL AFP USE ONLY AFP National Guideline on procurement and contracting 1. Disclosure and compliance

FOR INTERNAL AFP USE ONLY

AFP National Guideline on procurement and contracting

1. Disclosure and compliance

This document is classified UNCLASSIFIED and is intended for internal AFP use.

Disclosing any content must comply with Commonwealth law and the AFP National Guideline onthe disclosure of information.

Compliance

This instrument is part of the AFP's professional standards framework. The AFP Commissioner’sOrder on Professional Standards (CO2) outlines the expectations for appointees to adhere tothe requirements of the framework. Inappropriate departures from the provisions of thisinstrument may constitute a breach of AFP professional standards and be dealt with underPart V of the Australian Federal Police Act 1979 (Cth).

2. Acronyms

AFP Australian Federal Police

APP Annual procurement plan

CFIs Commissioner's Financial Instructions

CO9 AFP Commissioner's Order on Security

CPRs Commonwealth Procurement Rules

DoF Department of Finance

EOI Expression of interest

ICT Information and Communications Technology

IP Intellectual property

MPP Mandatory Procurement Procedures

MUL Multi-use list

NPC National Procurement and Contracts Team

PSPF Protective Security Policy Framework

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RFO Request for offer

RFQ Request for quotation

RFT Request for tender

3. Definitions

AFP appointee – is defined in s. 4 of the Australian Federal Police Act 1979 (Cth).

Approach to market – any notice inviting potential suppliers to participate in a procurementwhich may include a request for:

offerquotationtenderinformationproposalexpression of interestapplication for inclusion on a multi-use list.

AusTender – is the Commonwealth Government’s procurement publishing and reportingwebsite: www.tenders.gov.au.

Commercial activities – activities which encompass procurement, contracting, outsourcing,intellectual property issues, insurance and revenue-generating opportunities and functions.

Conditions for participation – the minimum conditions that potential suppliers mustdemonstrate compliance with, in order to participate in a procurement process or forsubmissions to be considered. This may include a requirement to undertake an accreditation orvalidation procedure.

Contingent liability – an indemnity, guarantee, warranty or letter of comfort that may giverise to a liability on the occurrence of a particular future event that is outside of the control ofthe AFP.

Consultant – an individual or entity engaged to provide consultancy services involving thedevelopment of an intellectual output that assists the AFP to make decisions, such as research,findings, the expression of an original concept, advice and/or recommendations.

Contract – an arrangement, as defined by the FMA Regulations, for the procurement of goodsand services under which public money is payable or may become payable. The termencompasses formal agreements, deeds of standing offer, purchase orders, official orders,leases and memorandums of understanding (MOUs).

Contractor – an individual or entity contracted to provide goods or services under direction, orin accordance with AFP specifications, as to how the work is to be performed and/or the form ofthe goods or service to be produced. ‘contractor’ for the purposes of this instrument has thesame meaning as ‘service provider’ and ‘supplier.’

Construction Services – refers to procurements related to the construction of buildings and allprocurements covered by the Public Works Committee Act 1969.

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Coordinated procurement – refers to whole-of-government arrangements for the supply ofgoods or services that must be used unless a specific exemption has been granted jointly bythe AFP’s Portfolio Minister and the Finance Minister.

Cooperative agency procurement – involves more than one agency as a buyer. The AFP canprocure cooperatively by approaching the market with another agency or by accessing anexisting contract belonging to another agency (often referred to as piggybacking).

Deed of standing offer – is an arrangement setting out the terms and conditions, including abasis for pricing, under which a supplier agrees to supply specified goods and services for aspecified period.

Delegate – is the official identified in Annexure B to the Commissioners Financial Instructions(CFIs) - Schedules of Authorisations and Delegations to hold the powers and responsibilities asdelegated by the Commissioner.

Expression of interest – a response to an open approach to the market requestingsubmissions from potential suppliers interested in participating in a procurement. The list ofpotential suppliers who have submitted expressions of interest may be used as the basis forconducting a prequalified tender process.

FMA Act – means the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997 (Cth).

FMA Regulation – means a regulation under the Financial Management and AccountabilityRegulations 1997 (Cth).

FOI Act – means the Freedom of Information Amendment (Reform) Act 2010 (Cth).

Goods – every type of right, interest, or thing legally capable of being owned. This includes,but is not restricted to, physical goods, real property and intangibles such as intellectualproperty, contract options and goodwill.

Indemnity – is a legally binding promise whereby a party undertakes to accept the risk of lossor damage another party may suffer.

Limited tender – involves approaching one or more potential suppliers to make submissions,where the process does not meet the rules for open tender or prequalified tender. Forprocurements valued at $80,000 and above, limited tendering is only permitted under certainconditions outlined in Division 2 of the Commonwealth Procurement Rules.

Multi-use list – a list, intended for use in more than one procurement process, of pre-qualifiedbusinesses that have satisfied the conditions for participation for inclusion on the list.

Offer – a submission from a potential supplier making an offer to provide goods or services inresponse to a request for offer using Commonwealth’s Standard Form Request for Offer.

Official – for the purposes of this instrument, has the same meaning as ‘AFP appointee’defined in s. 4 of the Australian Federal Police Act 1979 (Cth).

Official order – a contract for the supply of goods or services issued to a supplier inaccordance with the terms of a deed of standing offer or other form of overarching contract.

Online purchasing system – is the AFP online tool available via Insight! that is used to create

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a purchase order.

Open approach to the market – any notice, published on AusTender, inviting all potentialsuppliers to participate in a procurement which may include a request for tender, request forquote, request for expression of interest , request for application for inclusion on a multi-uselist, request for information and request for proposal.

Open tender – an approach to the market, published on AusTender, inviting all potentialsuppliers to lodge a submission.

Panel – is a group of suppliers engaged under deeds of standing offer to supply identifiedgoods or services. Panels are usually established through a single procurement process andofficial orders are typically raised for each separate procurement from the panel.

Prequalified tender – involves publishing an approach to market inviting submissions from allpotential suppliers on:

a short list of potential suppliers that responded to an initial open approach to marketa list of potential suppliers selected from a multi-use list established through an openapproach to marketa list of all potential suppliers that have been granted a specific licence or comply with alegal requirement, where the licence or compliance with the legal requirement is essentialto the conduct of the procurement.

Probity - is the evidence of ethical behaviour including complete and confirmed integrity,uprightness and honesty in all aspects of a procurement process.

Procurement – the whole process of acquiring goods or services encompassing:

identification of a needrisk assessmentseeking and evaluating alternative solutionscontract awarddelivery of and payment for goods or servicesongoing management of the contract where relevant including consideration of contractoptions and disengagement of a service provider at the end of the contractconsideration of disposal of goods at the end of their useful life where relevant.

Procurement threshold – is a value above which a procurement, unless specifically exempt,is subject to the additional rules outlined in Division 2 of the Commonwealth Procurement Rules(see s.12 of this guideline for further information).

Purchasing – means procurement.

Purchase order – is a written contract issued to suppliers for low value low risk procurementsof goods or services. Purchase orders include standard terms and conditions.

Request documentation– documentation provided to potential suppliers to enable them tounderstand and assess AFP requirements and to prepare appropriate and responsivesubmissions.

Request for offer – a request document developed from the Commonwealth Standard FormRequest for Offer template that invites suppliers to participate in a low value (less than

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$80,000) limited tender source procurement process.

Request for tender – a published notice inviting suppliers who satisfy the conditions forparticipation to submit a tender in accordance with the requirements of the request documents.

Service provider – the entity or entities that have contracted with the AFP for the supply ofgoods or services. For the purposes of this guideline ‘service provider’ has the same meaning as‘contractor’ and ‘supplier’.

Spending proposal - documents the key elements of a proposed procurement process and isused to inform the delegate and obtain FMA Regulation 9 approval for a proposed procurementactivity.

Standard form contract – is used to create a contract for low value (less than $80,000)limited tender procurements. The standard form contract is part of the Government’s BasicContract Suite and references the Commonwealth’s General Conditions of Contract.

Supplier – for the purposes of this instrument, has the same meaning as ‘service provider’ and‘contractor’.

Submission – includes any formally submitted response from a potential supplier to anapproach to market. Submissions may include:

offersquotationstendersexpressions of interestapplications for inclusion on a multi-use list.

Tenderer – an entity or person who has responded with a submission to an approach tomarket.

Value – the total estimated value of the goods or services being procured, as determined inaccordance with the rules at s. 9 in Division 1 of the Commonwealth Procurement Rules. Thevalue of the goods or services being procured will determine whether a particular procurementis subject to the additional rules in Division 2.

Value for money – means a comparative analysis of all relevant costs and benefits (ortechnical merit) of each proposal throughout the whole procurement cycle (with considerationalso given to whole of life costing or total cost of ownership).

4. Guideline authority

This guideline was issued by the Chief Financial Officer using power under s. 37(1) of theAustralian Federal Police Act 1979 (Cth) as delegated by the Commissioner under section 69Cof the Act.

5. Introduction

This National Guideline advises officials about the application of legislation, rules and policies tobe followed when engaging in the:

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procurement of goods and services on behalf of the AFPentering into and management of contracts for the supply of goods and services.

This guideline is a companion to the Commissioner’s Financial Instructions and providesadditional instruction and guidance for officials involved in procurement and contracting. Thisguideline also provides links to essential policy and guidance documents such as theCommonwealth Procurement Rules and to AFP-specific guidance on the procurement processes.

6. Policy

The Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997 (Cth) (FMA Act) requires theCommissioner to manage the resources of the AFP in an efficient, effective, economical andethical manner. Regulation 7 of the Financial Management and Accountability Regulations 1997(Cth) (FMA Regulations) requires that, when procuring, officials must act in accordance with theCommonwealth Procurement Rules (CPRs).

Officials undertaking procurement on behalf of the AFP must adhere to the FMA Act, FMARegulations, the CPRs, the Commissioner’s Financial Instructions and this National Guideline.

Commonwealth and AFP procurement policy requires ethical behaviour, achieving value formoney, encouraging competition and making procurement decisions in an accountable andtransparent manner.

7. Role of National Procurement and Contracts and AFP Legal

The National Procurement and Contracts Team (NPC) in the Finance and Commercial portfolio,is responsible for:

providing advice to business areas on the procurement of goods and services ensuringcompliance with the Australian Government procurement policy frameworkensuring that the AFP complies with government reporting obligations in relation toprocurementproviding assistance and support to business areas on contracting and contractmanagement activities.

AFP Legal is responsible for:

determining a the appropriate form of contract for procurements valued at $80,000 andabove and high risk procurements such as consultanciesproviding legal advice in relation to contract management issuesproviding advice on contingent liabilities including warranties indemnities and guaranteesprovided by the AFP.

Officials must refer to NPC and AFP Legal all:

procurements where the estimated value of the goods or services being procured is$80,000 and above (GST inclusive)contract variations/extensions relating to procurements or contract variations/extensionsthat increase the value of a contract beyond the $80,000 thresholdprocurements less than $80,000 (GST inclusive), for any of the following a:

consultancy

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contract containing warranties, indemnities or guarantees to be given by the AFPproposal to cap liability or reduce insurance coverproposal to terminate a contract or tender processproposal to commence work without a formal written signed contract in place.

Whilst NPC assists business areas meet their obligations in accordance with FMA Regulation 7and provides advice on procurement, it does not provide sign-off or provide FMA Regulation 9approval of spending proposal. Approval of spending proposal and compliance with FMARegulation 7 is the responsibility of the appropriate FMA Regulation 9 delegate.

PART 1: LEGAL FRAMEWORK

8. Commissioner’s Financial Instructions

In accordance with Financial Management and Accountability (FMA) Regulation 6, theCommissioner has issued the Commissioner’s Financial Instructions (CFIs). The CFIs outline AFPpolicies and practices necessary for carrying out or giving effect to the FMA Act and FMARegulations. The CFIs also establish AFP specific rules to ensure compliance with the rules ofthe Government’s procurement and financial management frameworks. The CFIs provideinstruction to officials carrying out duties relating to procurement in a manner tailored to theAFP’s particular circumstances and needs.

The CFIs provide instructions for dealing with a number of procurement related activities. Theseinclude:

CFI 03: Justifying spendingCFI 04: Approving spendingCFI 05: Procurement of goods and services (including the engagement of consultants andcontractors)CFI 06: Entering into contractsCFI 07: Managing service deliveryCFI 08: PaymentCFI 22: Managing risk and accountabilityAnnexure B: Schedules of delegations and authorisations.

9. Financial Management and Accountability Regulation 7

Compliance with the Commonwealth Procurement Rules (CPRs) is mandated under FMARegulation 7.

TheCPRs set down the rules for all procurement and articulate the requirements for all officialsperforming duties in relation to procurement. Non-compliance with the CPRs is reportable in theAFP’s certificate of compliance.

The CPRs are the core of the Government’s procurement framework which also includes:

Department of Finance’s (DoF’s) Procurement Policy WebsiteFinance Circulars, issued by DoF, advising key changes and developments to theprocurement frameworkOther procurement guidance

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The Commissioner’s Financial Instructions and associated National Guidelines.

10. Financial Management and Accountability Regulations 8, 9 and 10

10.1 FMA Regulation 8 (Entering into an arrangement)

Before a contract for the supply of goods or services can be entered into, FMA Regulation 8requires:

FMA Regulation 9 approval to be providedwhere applicable, written agreement under FMA Regulation 10.

10.2 FMA Regulation 9 (Approving spending proposals)

To ensure compliance with FMA Regulations 7 and 8, FMA Regulation 9 approval must beobtained prior to the procurement of any goods or services regardless of value.

When procuring goods or services valued over $10,000, FMA Regulation 9 approval must beobtained via completion of the appropriate approval document as described in s. 16 of thisguideline and approval sought by the appropriate FMA Regulation 9 delegate.

Approval documents must include sufficient detail to enable the delegate to be satisfied that thespending proposal will comply with the requirements of FMA Regulations 7, 9 and 10.

Delegates must be satisfied, after making reasonable inquiries, that giving effect to thespending proposal (proposed procurement) would be an efficient, effective, economical andethical use of Commonwealth resources that is not inconsistent with the policies of theCommonwealth. (per s. 44 (3) of the FMA Act and FMA Regulation 9).

10.3 Procurement connected policies

Department of Finance provides guidance on the policies of the Commonwealth that relate toprocurement, which is available on their website: Procurement Connected Policies.

10.4 FMA Regulation 10 (Future spending proposals)

FMA Regulation 10 authorisation must be obtained where the spending proposal will either:

involve expenditure outside of the AFP’s available appropriation (i.e. in future financialyears)lead to a contract, agreement or arrangement that contains a contingent liability includingan indemnity, guarantee, warranty or letter of comfort that may be exercised in a futureyear.

10.5 Further information

A Guide to FMA Regulation 10 is available from the National Procurement and Contractshomepage on the AFPHUB.

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11. Record keeping

Documentation of procurement processes and management of contracts is critical toaccountability and transparency. It provides a record of how procurement and contractingactivities have been conducted and facilitates scrutiny of these activities.

All officials engaged in procurement must maintain appropriate documentation, commensuratewith the scale, scope and risk of each procurement and contract management activity. In eachcase, they must ensure there is sufficient documentation to justify:

the requirement for the procurementthe procurement process that was followedhow value for money was considered and achievedall relevant decisions made before and during conduct of the procurement, including FMARegulation 9 and Regulation 10 approvals and the basis of those decisions.

Consistent with the Archives Act 1983 (Cth) documentation relating to a procurement must beretained for a minimum period of 3 years after the procurement process has beencompleted (or for a longer period if required by legislation or other reason specific to theparticular procurement) and thereafter destroyed in accordance with the Archives Act1983 (Cth).

Officials are advised that a member of the public under the Freedom of Information Amendment(Reform) Act 2010 (Cth) may request access to procurement related information held by anagency. The information, unless exempt under that Act, will be disclosed.


Record keeping checklists and spending proposal templates are available from the NationalProcurement and Contracts homepage.

The AFP National Guideline on managing records details obligations relating to recordsmanagement.

12. Divisions of the CPRs and procurement thresholds

The Commonwealth Procurement Rules (CPRs) are split into two divisions:

Division 1 sets out rules that must be applied to all procurement activities regardless ofthe valueDivision 2 sets out additional rules that must be applied to procurements valued at orabove the relevant procurement threshold where no exemption applies.

The following procurement thresholds apply to agencies subject to the Financial Managementand Accountability Act 1997 (including the AFP) and trigger compliance with the rules atDivision 2:

$80,000 for procurements other than construction services$7,500,000 for construction services.

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Appendix A of the CPRs lists the exemptions that apply to Division 2. However, suchprocurements are still required to be undertaken in accordance with the rules at Division 1 ofthe CPRs.

Officials must consult with National Procurement and Contracts when procuring goods andservices valued at $80,000 and above, regardless of whether the procurement is forconstruction services or an exemption applies.


For more information refer to the Commonwealth Procurement Rules and the supplementaryProcurement Practice Guidance published by the Department of Finance.

13. Value for money

The requirement to achieve value for money applies to all procurement activities and is thecore rule of the Commonwealth Procurement Rules (CPRs). Consideration of how value formoney will be achieved is required at the commencement of all procurement processes. Officials who procure goods or services on behalf of the AFP must be able to demonstrate howthe procurement will achieve a value for money outcome.

Price is not the sole determining factor in assessing whether a particular procurementrepresents value for money. Value for money requires consideration of the financial and non-financial costs and benefits associated with the procurement and takes into account:

fitness for purposea potential suppliers experience and performance historyflexibility of the goods or service including innovation and adaptability over the life of theprocurementenvironmental sustainabilitywhole-of-life costs.

Officials must refer to s. 4 of the CPRs when determining value for money.

14. Valuing procurements

At the commencement of any procurement activity, the value of the procurement must beestimated before the procurement method can be determined.

The estimation must include all forms of remuneration including any taxes, charges andallowances to be paid over the life of the contract/s. The valuation must also include anypotential contract extension options.

The total value of a contract may also be influenced by factors such as provision for:

price/wage movements over the life of the contractan increase to the scope of services due to changes in operational requirements.

Procurements must not be divided into separate smaller parts to circumvent a procurementthreshold.

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Officials must refer to s. 9 of the Commonwealth Procurement Rules when valuingprocurements.

14.1 Valuing panel arrangements

When establishing panel arrangements, the value of the procurement is the estimated totalvalue of all goods or services that may be procured from all members of the panel over the lifeof the panel arrangement.

Part 2: AFP FRAMEWORK

15. Procurement steps and timeframes

There are 6 major steps that are generally followed when procuring goods or services. Withineach step there are also a number of decisions or actions to be addressed. The major steps ina procurement are:

Step 1. Plan and scope the procurementStep 2. Determine the procurement methodStep 3. Obtain approvals and prepare to approach the marketStep 4. Approach the marketStep 5. Evaluate submissionsStep 6. Award and manage the contract, receive the goods and services and conclude theprocess.

These steps apply to both low value procurement as well as more complex procurementactivities. The level of effort and rigour associated with a procurement process should becommensurate with the level of the procurement risk. A more complex procurement processmay involve the conduct of an open tender process, convening an evaluation committee toconduct the evaluation, issue of a formal contract and managing supply of goods/services overa period of time.

For procurements valued over $80,000 (GST inclusive) guidance documents such as the stepsto be completed as part of a procurement process and an indicative timetable are availablefrom the National Procurement and Contracts homepage on the AFPHUB.

16. Procurement method

All procurement activities can be classified as being conducted by one of three procurementmethods:

open tenderprequalified tenderlimited tender

Prior to a procurement activity commencing, the proposed method of procurement must bedocumented in a spending proposal and approved by an official with an appropriate FMARegulation 9 delegation.

The procurement method selected for each procurement activity is determined by the

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requirement to achieve value for money and comply with the rules outlined CommonwealthProcurement Rules (CPRs).

For particular goods and services, the Government has determined that value for money is bestachieved for through whole-of-government coordinated procurement arrangements. Thesearrangements have been established through open tender procurement processes and must beused irrespective of the value of the procurement. More information and a list of goods andservices subject to coordinated procurement arrangements is at s. 20 of this guideline.

Cooperative agency procurements involve joining with another agency to procure goods andservices through an open tender process. These arrangements may only be used where theyrepresent value for money for the AFP. More information on cooperative agency procurement isat s. 21 of this guideline.

A procurement from a panel is considered to be conducted in the same manner that the panelwas originally established. Panel arrangements within the AFP are generally establishedthrough open tender processes. More information on panel arrangements is at s. 22 of thisguideline.

When conducting a procurement through limited tendering, the number of submissions (quotes,offers) sought from suppliers will depend on:

the nature of the goods and servicesthe size and maturity of the marketthe value and risk associated with the procurement.

A competitive process must be undertaken for all procurement activities unless there arecircumstances and conditions that justify approaching a single supplier. These circumstancesand conditions must be soundly justified and documented in the spending proposal. Whilstthere may be occasions where it may be appropriate to seek a single quotation, this must bethe exception rather than standard practice.

Division 2 of the CPRs sets out the conditions that limited tendering can be used to procuregoods and services valued at or above the procurement thresholds of $80,000 (GST inclusive)and $7,500,000 (GST inclusive) for construction services.

The table below outlines the method of procurement and approval processes required within theAFP to ensure compliance with the CPRs:

Value (GSTinclusive)

Procurement method How approval isprovided andrecorded

Over $80,000 (includingconsultancies)

Mandatory whole-of–governmentcoordinatedprocurementarrangement orAFP panel orcooperativeagencyprocurement or

All procurementprocesses valued above$80,000 (GSTinclusive) must bereferred to NPC.Business areas mustwork with NPC tocomplete therelevant spending

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open approach tothe market orprequalifiedtender process orlimited tenderprocess inaccordance with theconditions outlinedin the Division 2 ofthe CPRs.

proposal template. Spending proposal isprovided to thedelegate for FMA Reg 9approval after reviewby NPC.

Consultancybetween $10,000and $80,000

Mandatory whole-of–governmentcoordinatedprocurementarrangement orAFP panel orcooperativeagencyprocurement orprequalifiedtender or openapproach to themarket (dependentupon nature ofrequirement ordegree of risk) orlimited tender (1–6 written quotes)

Business area mustwork with NPC tocomplete therelevant spendingproposal templateSpending proposal isprovided to thedelegate for FMA Reg 9approval after referralto NPC.If only 1 quote issought, the reasonsmust be justified andformally documented.

Between $10,000and $80,000(excludingconsultancies)

Mandatory whole-of–governmentcoordinatedprocurementarrangement orAFP panel orcooperativeagencyprocurement orprequalifiedtender or openapproach to themarket (dependentupon nature ofrequirement ordegree of risk) orlimited tender (1–6 written offers)

Business areas mustcomplete the Lowvalue spendingproposal template Recommended thatbusiness area workswith NPC to completethe template.Low value spendingproposal is provided todelegate for FMA Reg 9approval.If only 1 offer is to besought, the reasonsmust be justified andformally documented.

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Under $10,000 Mandatory whole-of–governmentcoordinatedprocurementarrangement orAFP panel orcooperativeagencyprocurement orlimited tender (1–3 verbal or writtenoffers)

Business areas mustobtain FMA Reg 9approval in writing anddocument theprocurement process tobe used.If only 1 offer is to besought, the reasonsmust be justified anddocumented.


Further guidance on procurement methods can be found in the:

Procurement Decision Making Flowchart available from the National Procurement andContracts homepageCommonwealth Procurement Rules.

17. Spending proposal

All procurements valued at $10,000 (GST inclusive) or more must be documented through thedevelopment of a spending proposal using the templates provided by the National Procurementand Contracts homepage on the AFPHUB. A spending proposal must be used to obtain FMARegulation 9 approval and FMA Regulation 10 authorisation (as applicable) prior to thecommencement of the procurement process.

The spending proposal will provide evidence of compliance with the CommonwealthProcurement Rules and Commissioner’s Financial Instructions (CFIs) and must be retainedwithin the business area in accordance with the record keeping requirements detailed at s. 11above.

The level of information required in a spending proposal is commensurate with the scale, scopeand relative risk of the proposed procurement. Depending on the value of the procurement, thespending proposal documents the:

specific requirement for the good or servicesestimated contract value and start and end datesproposed budgetrisks associated with the procurementproposed method of procurementrequirement for FMA Regulation 10 approval, as requiredprocurement process timetable, as requiredstakeholders to the procurement process, as requiredcontract and project managers, as requiredprobity plan, as requiredpotential conflicts of interest.

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There are 4 different spending proposal templates available which guide officials through theprocurement process.

Template 1: High value spending proposal template for procurements valued over $80,000and for consultancy servicesTemplate 2: Low value spending proposal template for procurements valued between$10,000 and $80,000Template 3: Panel spending proposal template – for procurements valued over $80,000Template 4: Panel spending proposal template – for procurements valued between$10,000 and $80,000.

18. Approaching the market and request documents

The primary purpose for request documentation is to inform suppliers of the AFP’s requirementsand contract terms and conditions relating to a procurement. Request documents should enablesuppliers to provide submissions that clearly relate to our requirements.

Request documents include:

request for offer (RFO) – used to obtain submissions from suppliers for limited tenderprocurements valued at less than $80,000request for quotation (RFQ) – used for procurement processes from panel arrangementsrequest for tender (RFT) – these contain more detail and are used for more complexprocurements including open approaches to the marketrequest for expression of interest (EOI) – used during an open approach to the market toestablish a shortlist of suppliers from which a subsequent prequalified tender process maybe conducted.

When approaching the market, officials must ensure that all potential suppliers are dealt with ina non-discriminatory manner. Request documentation (including any changes and addenda)must be issued to all suppliers participating in a procurement process at the same time and ina manner that encourages competition and makes efficient, effective, economical and ethicaluse of Commonwealth resources. Similarly all procurement processes must have a commondeadline for participating suppliers to lodge submissions with the AFP.

18.1 Request for offers

The AFP has adopted use of the Whole of Australian Government Basic Contract Suite for usewhen conducting a limited tender valued between $10,000 and $80,000 (GST inclusive) that isassessed as having a risk profile of medium or significant risk. The Risk Profile Guide should beused to determine the risk profile of a procurement process. The templates that make up theBasic Contract Suite have been tailored for use by the AFP and a portal to these documents isavailable from the National Procurement and Contracts homepage.

The Basic Contract suite includes two Standard Form Request for Offer templates (one forsupply of goods and another for provision of services) which must be used to seek submissionsfrom suppliers for all procurements that are assessed as having a medium or significant risklimited tender procurements valued between $10,000 and $80,000 (GST inclusive).

The basic contract suite of documents must not be used for:

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Whole of government arrangementsConsultanciesConstructionMulti-use listExisting arrangements (e.g. standing offer or panel)Information communication technology purchases including software and hardwareCovert or discreet procurements; orProcurement processes valued over $80,000 (GST inclusive).

To ensure that all potential suppliers participating in a procurement process are given the sameopportunities, RFOs can be sent directly to suppliers via an email at the same time. Toencourage competition and for probity reasons, care should be taken not to disclose to anysupplier, those suppliers who are being invited to participate in a procurement process. Forthese reasons, officials should consider using the blind copy email function to distribute RFOs toall potential suppliers.

18.2 Request documentation for panels

Depending on the nature of a panel, panel members may be engaged by:

conducting a competitive procurement process where an RFQ is issued to some or all panelmembersdirectly approaching a single panel member after evaluating, based on value for money,the specific goods or services and price structure contained within each panel member’sdeed of standing offer.

Spending proposal must document the process used to approach a panel and justify how valuefor money will be achieved.

Panel managers should be able to provide instructions on how to access goods and services inaccordance with the deeds of standing offer. NPC can also provide assistance with procuringgoods and services from panels and maintain a suite of RFQ templates for obtaining quotationsfrom panel members. More information on panel arrangements is at s. 22 of this guideline.

18.3 Request documentation for open approaches to market

For procurement processes valued at $80,000 and above, NPC maintain a suite of detailedrequest documentation templates (i.e. the RFT and EOI templates) which can be adapted foruse with a variety of different procurement processes. Officials should contact NPC and obtainthe appropriate request documents once they have completed their spending proposal.

All open approaches to the market must be published on AusTender by NPC. AusTenderfacilitates the distribution of open tenders to all suppliers at the same time and in a mannerthat is transparent and accountable. During the conduct of an open tender process, anychanges, addenda or advice to suppliers must be made available to all potential suppliers via anotice on AusTender.

Procurements valued at more than $80,000 must be advertised on AusTender for a minimum of25 calendar days. However, under any of the following circumstances this time limit may bereduced to less than 10 days:

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details of the procurement have been included in the AFP’s annual procurement plan for aminimum of 30 daysthe procurement relates to commercial goods or services of a type that are offered for saleto non-government buyers for non-government purposesfor a second or subsequent approach to the market for procurements of a recurring naturewhere a genuine state of urgency renders the normal time limit impractical.

A longer period in the market may be required if there are public holidays intervening or thecomplexity of the procurement means 25 days is insufficient for potential suppliers to lodge asubmission.

Request documents published on AusTender must be uploaded in a PDF format to avoidproblems associated with hidden text in Microsoft Word documents.

19. Contract types

All purchases $10,000 (GST inclusive) and above must be evidenced in writing in a contractbetween the AFP and the supplier. The formalisation of the terms and conditions at theprocurement stage will become the basis of a written contract which may take the form of anAFP Purchase Order, exchange of letters, official order issued under a Deed of Standing Offer,standard form contract or long form contract/agreement.

The contract must be issued to the supplier prior to the delivery of any goods or services.When planning a procurement, officials need to determine the most appropriate contract typethat will protect the interests of the AFP. The complexity and type of contract required willdepend on the:

nature of the goods and services being procuredvalue and risk associated with the procurement.

Officials should consult National Procurement and Contracts and/or AFP Legal if assistance isrequired to determine an appropriate form of contract.

Contracts serve to protect the interests of the AFP by establishing clear terms and conditionsrelating to the particular goods or services. Contracts may include information and clausesabout the following matters:

purpose, services, timing and standards of goods or services to be providedfinancial matters, including pricing, method of payment, reimbursement of expenses ortax/invoice issuesrisk management issues including insurance and indemnitiesAFP security issuesownership and licences, including intellectual property rightsprivacy and confidentiality clausescommunication management, including delivering of notices and dispute managementclauses.

Draft contract terms and conditions are provided to suppliers in request documents. As part oftheir submission, suppliers are required to either accept the contract terms and conditions ordeclare their inability to comply with specific clauses of the draft contract. A potential supplier’slevel of compliance with the draft contract should form part of the evaluation of submissionsand will inform the capability and risk associated with the particular supplier.

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19.1 Contract suite for procurements valued between $10,000 to $80,000

For low risk procurements valued between $10,000 and $80,000 the recommended contracttype is an AFP Purchase Order. A low risk procurement is considered to be the purchase of off-the-shelf goods that are not difficult to replace, where there is no potential for reputationaldamage or poor service by the supplier and are at a fixed price. The Risk Profile Guide shouldbe used to determine the risk profile of a procurement process.

The Commonwealth’s Basic Contract Suite of documents as adopted by the AFP, includes twoStandard Form Contract templates (one for supply of goods and another for provision ofservices) which must be used for procurements that have been assessed as having a mediumor significant risk profile between $10,000 and $80,000 (GST inclusive). The ‘Standard FormContract’ references the Commonwealth’s General Conditions of Contract that outline theGovernment’s contract terms and conditions. These contract templates are used in conjunctionwith the Standard Form Request for Offer templates detailed at paragraph 18.1 (Limited tenderrequest for offers). The Basic Contract Suite is available from the National Procurement andContracts homepage on the AFPHUB. The Basic Contract Suite is not suitable for procurements:from deeds of standing offer arrangements, information and communications technology(including software and hardware), construction; or consultancy services.

Procurements valued at $80,000 (GST inclusive) and above and procurements such asconsultancy, construction services, discreet or covert procurements require more detailed AFPcontracts to be drafted in consultation with AFP Legal. Procurements from panels and/or deedsof standing offer should use the contract instrument outlined in the deed, such as an:

official orderorder for serviceswork orderservices agreement.

Procurements for ICT products including software and hardware, and services must be referredto ICT Procurement and Vendor Relations and, if not from an existing deed of standing offer,require an appropriate form of contract to be drafted in consultation with AFP Legal.

19.2 Confidentiality in draft contracts

All submissions from suppliers must be kept confidential prior to and after the award of acontract. However, once a contract has been awarded the terms of the contract are notconsidered confidential unless the AFP has determined that the specific information requiressuch treatment. Draft contracts should identify confidentiality arrangements based on theGovernment's policy that commercial information should not be kept confidential unless itmeets all 4 of the criteria outlined in the Department of Finance’s guidance on ‘Confidentialitythroughout the procurement cycle’.

Officials should make a specific assessment of whether information should be kept confidentialbefore agreeing to make any contractual commitment of confidentiality. Officials should seekadvice from NPC if unsure about a potential supplier’s claim for confidentiality.

20. Mandatory coordinated procurement arrangements

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Officials must use established whole-of-government coordinated procurement arrangements toprocure the goods or services covered under these arrangements irrespective of the value ofthe procurement.

Some of the goods and services subject to mandatory coordinated procurement arrangementsinclude:

travel including air charters, accommodation and car hiremotor vehiclestablet PCs, laptops, desktop computers and monitorsmobile carriage services including mobile data servicesmajor office machines including printers, photocopiers and multifunction devicestelecommunications servicesMicrosoft softwareadvertising (both campaign and non-campaign including recruitment advertising)stationerylegal services.

Unless specifically detailed as part of the coordinated procurement arrangement, exemptionsfrom using these arrangements may only be granted jointly by the Minister for Home Affairsand the Minister for Finance where a special need for an alternative supply can bedemonstrated.


The requirement to use coordinated procurement arrangements is outlined in s. 4 of theCommonwealth Procurement Rules. More information on goods and services subject tomandatory coordinated procurement arrangements is published on the Department of Financewebsite.

Details of coordinated procurement arrangements and their AFP contract managers are includedin the AFP’s list of panels published on the National Procurement and Contracts homepage.

21. Cooperative agency procurement

Officials must only procure cooperatively with other Commonwealth agencies where it willachieve value for money for the AFP. If the AFP wishes to join a cooperative agencyprocurement arrangement, the initial request documents and the subsequent contract mustspecify potential use by the AFP.

Officials must work with National Procurement and Contracts to join or access existingcooperative agency procurement arrangements.


Details of cooperative agency procurement arrangements that the AFP has accessed areincluded in the AFP’s list of panels published on the National Procurement and Contractshomepage.

Guidance on cooperative agency procurement is published on the Department of Finance

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website.

22. Panels, deeds of standing offer and official orders

Once established, a panel can achieve value for money and streamline procurement processesby:

providing a flexible, streamlined and efficient process for procuring goods or services on aregular basisallowing direct engagement of panel members for routine low value purchasesallowing large volumes of goods or more complex services to be procured efficientlywithout the conduct of a full open tender process.

Deeds of standing offer specify:

the terms and conditions that will apply when goods and services are procured from thepanelhow goods and services will be procured from the panel (by issue of a separate contractusually in the form of an official order)the scope of the goods or services available from the panelindicative rates or set prices for the goods or servicesthe term during which the panel will operate.

Official orders generally specify the:

precise goods and services to be procuredtime frame for delivery of the goods and servicesfees and any other special conditions relating to the individual procurement.

Each AFP panel arrangement has a panel manager. This person should be the first point ofcontact for officials wishing to purchase goods or services provided by that panel. The panelmanager will provide instructions on how to use the panel in accordance with the deed.

Depending on the nature of a panel, panel members may be engaged by either:

conducting a competitive procurement process where a request for quotation is issued toall or some panel membersdirectly approaching a single panel member after evaluating, based on value for money,the specific goods or services and price structure contained within each panel member’sdeed of standing offer.

Spending proposals must document the process used to approach a panel and justify how valuefor money will be achieved. Spending proposal from panels valued at $80,000 and above andfor consultancy services must be reviewed by National Procurement and Contracts prior toapproval by the FMA Regulation 9 delegate.


The AFP’s list of panels is available from the National Procurement and Contracts homepage.

Guidance on Panel Arrangements and Multi-Use Lists is available on the Department of Finance

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website.

23. Multi-use lists

A multi-use list (MUL) must be established through an open approach to the market advertisedon AusTender either continuously or republished annually.

As the MUL is a pre-qualification process, it must include all potential suppliers who meet thestated conditions for participation.

Prequalified tendering is allowed from an MUL and involves publishing an approach to marketinviting submissions from all potential suppliers.

As the establishment, management and procurement from an MUL is often resource intensive,its benefits should be carefully considered to ensure it is the most effective and efficientprocurement tool. Ability to conduct a prequalified tender from an MUL should be balancedagainst alternative procurement methods, such as establishing a panel or the selection andmanagement of a single supplier.

The use of MULs in the AFP is very limited. Officials contemplating establishing an MUL shouldconsult National Procurement and Contracts.

24. Procuring consultancy services

Procurements of consultancy services are subject to greater parliamentary and public scrutinythan other types of services. Contracts for consultancy services must be listed in the AFP’sannual report and are separately identified on AusTender. As a result of the increased scrutiny,all procurements of consultancy services must be conducted via consultation with the NationalProcurement and Contracts team (NPC).

Officials must consult NPC if they are having difficulty deciding whether the procurement ofservices will involve a consultant or a contractor. The following information should assistofficials to distinguish the difference between consultants and contractors:

24.1 Consultancies

The output of a consultancy contract reflects the independent views of the service provider. Indetermining a consultancy, emphasis should be on whether the AFP has control over the viewsexpressed, regardless of the level of direction or supervision that the AFP actually providesduring the performance of the services.

A consultancy allows for the exercise of professional skills and expert judgement. While thenature of the final product may be specified (such as a report in a certain format), engagementis on the basis there will be no attempt made to constrain the freedom of the consultant’sprofessional judgement as to the nature or content of the product. The outcome is notpredetermined by the AFP and the views and the recommendations and conclusions are theconsultant’s and will not necessarily be adopted by the AFP.

24.2 Contractors

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Contractor services include:

information and communications technology support servicesinterpreting and translation servicesaccounting servicestravelprintingcleaningregistry and mail servicessecurity guarding.


Department of Finance’s advice on additional reporting on consultancies provides furtherassistance to officials to determine the difference between a contractor and a consultant.

25. Software procurement

All software procurement in the AFP is centralised. Business areas are prohibited from procuringsoftware directly from suppliers. Officials must comply with s. 11 of the AFP National Guidelineon software management and copyright which outlines the process for procuring software.

26. Conflict of interest

Officials involved in procurement must avoid conflicts of interest, including perceived conflicts.A conflict of interest may arise where a person has a private or personal interest in a situationsufficient to appear to influence the performance of their official duties in an objective manner.

Even where there is no evidence of improper action, the mere perception of impropriety may besufficient to undermine confidence in a person's ability to act properly.

The perception of impropriety created by the conflict of interest is the issue, particularly inrespect of:

any situation in which the payment relates to a member of the official's family or abusiness entity with which the official, or a member of the official's family, is directlyassociatedany item of expenditure for goods and services proposed by a subordinate official, wherethat official is the approving official's partner or a member of their family.

Officials involved in a procurement process, including contractors such as business or probityadvisers, should make a written declaration of any actual or perceived conflicts of interestsprior to taking part in the process.

Conflict of interest issues are addressed during completion of spending proposals and tenderevaluation plans. Officials should also be mindful of the potential for conflict of interest issuesto arise at any stage of a procurement process and must address any conflict of interest orperceived conflict of interest issues as they arise.

27. Risk management and insurance

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The Australian Government’s Policy is to accept risks only when the expected benefits, financialor otherwise, are sufficient to outweigh the level and cost of the risk. Officials should generallynot accept risks which a supplier is better placed to manage.

Throughout a procurement process, officials must remain cognisant of risks and their potentialimpacts.

27.1 Risk assessment

Potential risks associated with each stage of a procurement process need to be identified andmanaged. Procurement efforts should be commensurate to the risk associated and value of aprocurement process.

For procurements valued between $10,000 and $80,000 (GST inclusive) a Risk Profile Guidemust be completed. The guide allows for the risk associated with a procurement to beidentified, and the correct level of documentation and effort to be directed at the procurementprocess.

A risk assessment and treatment plan must be conducted for all procurements valued at$80,000 or above, and for lower value higher risk procurements such as consultancy services.

Risk assessments must be undertaken in accordance with the process outlined in the AFPNational Guideline on risk management.

The initial risk assessment must be attached to the spending proposal and be approved by theFMA Regulation 9 delegate. Risk assessments and risk management plans should be reviewedand amended throughout a procurement process.

A Procurement Risk Toolkit that provides a comprehensive list of the types of risk that shouldbe considered and managed throughout a procurement process is available from theNational Procurement and Contracts (NPC) homepage.

27.2 Insurance

For procurements valued at $80,000 and above the AFP generally requires suppliers to carrythe following levels of insurance cover:

public liability insurance (at least $10,000,000) for all procurementsproduct liability insurance (at least $10,000,000) where equipment or products areprovided to the AFPprofessional negligence insurance (at least $5,000,000) where professional servicesincluding consultancy services are provided to the AFPworkers’ compensation as required by law.

Where levels of cover or AFP requirements for a particular type of insurance are challenged bypotential suppliers, officials should consult NPC in the first instance and AFP Legal for morecomplex procurements.

Levels of insurance required for procurements valued at less than $80,000 should beconsidered based on risk. It is expected that suppliers would maintain insurance at levels that a

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prudent supplier would normally maintain or are required to hold by law. For example, allsuppliers entering AFP premises would be expected to hold as a minimum public liabilityinsurance and workers’ compensation insurance as required by law.

28. Financial viability assessments

A financial viability assessment evaluates the risk that, over the life of a proposed contract, asupplier may not be able to:

deliver the goods and services which are specified in the contractfulfil guarantees or warranties provided for in the contract.

The requirement for a financial viability assessment should be considered when planning aprocurement process and must be undertaken prior to entering into a contract for all highvalue, high risk procurements which:

are critical to the operations of the AFPinvolve significant payments in advance of provision of goods or services (prepayments).

Where a procurement project or a particular supplier poses a risk to the AFP’s operations,officials should consider incorporating additional measures into contracts which serve to protectthe interests of the AFP. Such measures may include:

financial undertakingsperformance guaranteesquality undertakings and warranties relating to the quality of the goods or servicesliquidated damages clauses.

Advice should be sought from AFP Legal if additional contract clauses are required to manage ahigh risk contract or supplier.

National Procurement and Contracts maintain an arrangement with a provider of financialservices that is able to conduct financial viability assessments on potential suppliers.


Department of Finance’s guidance on Assessing Financial Viability provides further informationon managing risk and the conduct of financial viability assessments.

29. Contingent liabilities including indemnities

In drafting procurement documentation, including contracts, officials should not includecontingent liabilities, including indemnities, to any supplier unless justified in the circumstances.

Where suppliers propose to limit their liability through indemnities, exclusions or liability caps,officials should immediately seek advice from AFP Legal. It may only become apparent thatthere are issues with a supplier’s liability when tender responses are received, and compliancewith the draft contract is raised by the tenderer. Again, officials should immediately seek advicefrom AFP Legal.

A risk assessment must be undertaken for each proposal to limit a supplier’s liability. The

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potential costs to the AFP of any contingent liability must be considered when assessing valuefor money.


Finance Circular 2003/02 - Guidelines for Issuing and Managing Indemnities, Guarantees,Warranties and Letters of Comfort provides guidance to officials considering entering intocontracts involving contingent liabilities.

Finance Circular - 2006/03 – Limited Liability in Information and Communications Technologycontracts provides guidance on the Australian Government's policy on the capping of liabilitywhen entering into Information and Communications Technology contracts.

AFP Legal can provide advice on these Finance Circulars.

30. Security

The AFP has responsibilities for ensuring that high standards of professional conduct aremaintained by all personnel involved in the procurement of goods and services. Officials mustconsider the risks associated with external service providers having access to AFP facilities,personnel, assets and official information; particularly if the provider has access to or interestswith an entity of interest to law enforcement or a foreign owned enterprise.

When procuring goods or services, officials must identify, assess and treat security risksassociated with the procurement in accordance with the requirements of the Protective SecurityPolicy Framework (PSPF).

30.1 Security and approaches to the market

Open approaches to the market must include, through consultation with the Security portfolio,security and integrity provisions relevant to the goods or services being procured, and mustclearly indicate clauses that are mandatory to meet the minimum standards and those that areoptional or desirable.

Request documents (e.g. request for tender) should indicate whether a potential supplier’s keypersonnel (including the bid manager and company directors, area managers or partners asapplicable) will be required to undergo a security and suitability, professional conduct andintegrity assessment to determine if the personnel and supplier are suitable to provide goods orservices to the AFP. The security assessment, suitability assessment and integrity assessment,which addresses behaviours such as honesty, trustworthiness, maturity, tolerance, and loyalty,will be conducted by the AFP Security Portfolio. The outcome of such security assessmentsmust form part of the associated quotation/tender evaluation.

The Australian Government has determined minimum standards and procedures that must beapplied to functions involving the generation, handling, storage, transfer or transmission anddisposal of official information. Request documents prepared by officials must refer to theseminimum standards which are outlined in Information Security guidelines contained within thePSPF.

30.2 Confidentiality undertakings in procurement processes

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Where the AFP is required to release official information to potential suppliers as part of aprocurement process, confidentiality undertakings (deeds of confidentiality) must be obtainedfrom the potential supplier before such information is released.

Where official information is required to be provided to suppliers, consideration must be givento structuring the procurement process in a manner that also allows for security and suitability,professional conduct and integrity assessments to be conducted and confidentiality undertakingsobtained prior to the release of any information. Any release of official information should bedone in accordance with a risk assessment management plan and the AFP National Guideline onthe disclosure of information.

These requirements may involve splitting the procurement process into a two stageprocurement process that includes:

the release of a request for expressions of interest (EOI) containing minimal informationconduct of security and integrity assessments on successful respondents to the EOIobtaining confidentiality undertakings from successful respondentsreleasing any official information as part of a formal request for quotation or tender oncethese security requirements have been met.

30.3 Security obligations in contracts

Contracts must contain reference to any security obligations placed on the service provider.

Where a contract requires the service provider to access official information, additional mattersmust be addressed in the evaluation criteria. All tenderers must meet the followingrequirements:

a conflict of interest declaration must be completed to disclose any potential conflict ofinterest that would impact on security in the performance of functions or services onbehalf of the Australian Governmentthe service provider’s employees who require access to sensitive facilities, sensitivepractices or procedures or official information must be security cleared to the appropriatelevel and comply with AFP reporting requirementsthe service provider’s premises and facilities must be suitable for the storage and handlingof official information up to and including the nominated classification levelthe service provider must have systems able to meet designated information securitystandards for the electronic processing, storage, transmission and disposal of officialinformationprovide details of any police investigation into its company, any association with anyonewho is or has been involved in criminal activityagree to provide details of company directorskey personnel involved in the delivery of services to the AFP who require access to AFPpersonnel, premises and information must undergo a security, professional conduct andintegrity assessment and briefings.

30.4 Security and contractor’s personnel

Officials are responsible for ensuring the security procedures and practices undertaken by the

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service provider are appropriate and specified in the contract. If the contract requires that theservice provider be provided with access to official information, this access must occur in anappropriate security environment. The minimum security measures are those detailed in PSPFon:

Security GovernanceInformation SecurityPersonnel securityPhysical security.

30.5 Contract management and security

Officials must seek to develop positive working relationships with service providers as thispromotes open communication and adds value to the security environment through the promptidentification and resolution of issues. The AFP must retain the ability to terminate a contractfor security incidents, or the inability of a contractor to remedy those incidents under the termsof the contract.

The AFP must monitor the service provider’s security procedures on a regular basis. A clausemust be included in the contract providing the AFP with access to the service provider’spremises, records and equipment. This will help the AFP to manage the contract and willprovide an avenue for regular monitoring, to ensure that the service provider is complying withits security obligations.

The means and frequency of monitoring a service provider’s security procedures is to bedetailed in the risk management plan that is derived from the security risk assessmentconducted as part of the procurement process. Any security incidents involving a contract orservice provider must be reported to Security-Reporting-and-Referrals in accordance with therequirements of AFP Commissioner's Order on Security (CO9) and other related securitygovernance.

Appointees involved in assessing the security requirements for contracts, (especially in relationto a service provider’s ICT systems and their capacity to comply with information, personneland physical security standards) must seek advice from the Security portfolio via Security-Reporting-and-Referrals in the earliest stages of the procurement process.

31. Consultants/contractors as AFP appointees

The Commissioner’s power under s. 35(2) of the Australian Federal Police Act 1979 (Cth) todetermine, in writing, that a consultant or independent contractor is to be an AFP appointee, isdelegated as described in the AFP Commissioner’s Order on Administration (CO1).

31.1 Key considerations

Before the AFP engages a contractor or consultant, it must be determined whether thecontractor/consultant and/or their personnel should be subjected to broader accountabilitymeasures (including the AFP’s security clearance and drug testing regimes) regarding theirwork for the AFP. This is particularly critical in areas such as:

protection or development of AFP critical infrastructure

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development of AFP systems management, including Information CommunicationsTechnology or other significant operations management toolsactivities requiring access to AFP corporate information or systems housing officialinformation rated at or higher than protectedactivities within the AFP’s operating environment where the performance of that role willexpose personnel to sensitive practice and procedure activities, sensitive facilities or officialinformationaccess to/control of AFP resources (consideration to be given to classification, value and/orquantity of assets which are the subject of the engagement).

Exceptions:

short term appointments of not more than 3 months which are unlikely to be extended(National Managers may use discretion in determining whether or not to engage theconsultant/contractor as an AFP appointee)engagements of a voluntary basis controlled by an appropriate management program (e.g.police volunteers).

Any medium or longer term engagements, where discretion has been exercised not to engageas an AFP appointee, must be:

subjected to a formal security risk assessment processendorsed by the relevant National Manager.

31.2 Security risk management

Marginal cases that do not fit neatly within any of the above key considerations must besubjected to a formal risk assessment process.

Functions where contractors or consultants should be determined to be AFP appointees include:

information services/information management contractorssupply of AFP uniforms and accoutrementsrecords management and criminal history vettingtape transcription services where information to be handled is classified at or higher thanconfidential or highly protectedany other service provided to the AFP where the Security portfolio consider it necessary.


Instructions on Consultants and Contractors as AFP Appointees is available from the NationalProcurement and Contracts homepage.

32. Engaging sole traders and individuals

The AFP must, under the Superannuation (Productivity Benefit) Act 1988 (Cth) and theSuperannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992 (Cth) provide superannuationcontributions for certain contractors and consultants engaged by the AFP. This obligation appliesfor contractors working as individuals/sole traders where the contract is ‘wholly or principallyfor their personal labour’ but not where a contract is with an intermediary such as a company

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or a partnership.

Officials intending to engage contractors or consultants on the understanding that they willprovide personal labour in the same sense as an employee of the AFP should therefore beaware that a superannuation liability in favour of the contractor or consultant could be invoked.

Officials intending to engage consultants or contractors must take appropriate steps to avoidincurring a superannuation liability. If contracts are to be entered with individuals for labourhire, the proposed contracts should be examined by AFP Legal to determine whether asuperannuation liability will exist. If it does, arrangements must be made for thesuperannuation payments to be made every time the individual’s invoice is paid.

If AFP Legal determines that a superannuation liability exists, officials should also contact theNational Taxation Team for further information regarding how payments should be processed.

33. Annual procurement plan

The AFP is required to plan forthcoming procurement and must publish on AusTender by 1 Julyeach year an annual procurement Plan (APP) for that financial year, to draw businesses’ earlyattention to potential procurement opportunities. The published plan includes:

a strategic procurement outlookthe subject matter of any planned procurementthe estimated date of the approach to the market.

Publishing opportunities enables the AFP to reduce the time for lodgement of tender responsesfrom the prescribed 25 calendar days to not less than 10 calendar days. Officials must seekadvice from National Procurement and Contracts (NPC) if intending to take advantage of thereduced time limit.

33.1 Reports to NPC

All business area managers must ensure that the subject matter of any planned procurementand the estimated date of the publication of the approach to the market is provided to NPC nolater than 1 June each year.

33.2 Quarterly reviews

AFP policy is to update the APP quarterly. Business area managers must review theirprocurement planning quarterly and notify NPC of any:

new procurementsprocurements to be withdrawn from the APPprocurements that have not been published in the APP.


Guidance on APP obligations is available on the Department of Finance’s website.

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34. Contract reporting

AFP contracting activities must be accountable and transparent to the parliament, potentialsuppliers and the general public.

34.1 AusTender reporting

The AFP is required to publish on AusTender details of all procurement contracts and agencyagreements with a commitment value of $10,000 or more. Deeds of standing offer are alsopublished on AusTender.

As soon as a formal contract is executed or varied, the official responsible for management ofthe contract must register the contract by lodging a ‘Contract Registration form’ (AFP Forms)and a copy of the signed contract and signed spending proposal with National Procurement andContracts (NPC). The contract manager must complete this process within 7 working days toallow sufficient time for NPC to report the contract on AusTender by no later than 42 days fromdate of execution of the contract.

Contracts and related documents that must be registered with NPC include:

contracts and agency agreements valued at/over $10,000 (including standard formCommonwealth contracts, leases, licences, service agreements, consultancies, fundingarrangements, letters of agreement, memorandums of understanding, and maintenanceagreements)consultancies (regardless of value)variations to contractsdeeds of standing offerofficial orders valued at/over $10,000 issued in accordance with a deed of standing offer(reported on AusTender as a separate contract and linked to the deed when reported)additional services procured in accordance with an existing contract by issuing an officialorder or work ordersupplier-initiated agreements (contracts issued by a supplier under their terms andconditions)individual credit card transactions valued at/over $10,000 and not covered by anoverarching contract.

A contract variation must be registered if:

the term is extendedthe value is increasedthe value is reduced for any reason, such as early termination, reduction in services, orexercise of step-in rights by the AFPother changes (non-price) that will be of sufficient interest to stakeholders to warrant thevariation (e.g. the assignment or novation of a contract from one supplier to another).

Business areas need to be aware that purchase orders not linked to a formal contract areautomatically reported on AusTender via the SAP Gazettal Screens in the Online PurchasingSystem.

Contract details reported on AusTender include:

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the supplier’s name, address and ABNthe total contract value (GST inclusive)the contract terma description of the goods and services to be suppliedthe procurement method used to establish the contractdetails of confidentiality clauses in the contractwhether the contract is for consultancy services and reasons for engaging the consultant.

The contract value reported is the total value committed at the time of contract executionincluding GST. This value excludes any options, extensions, renewals or other mechanisms inthe contract that may be executed at a later date. These options, extensions etc. must bereported as variations against the original contract at the time the option is executed or takenup.

34.2 Annual reports

Each year the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet issue ‘Requirements for AnnualReports’ which contain annual reporting obligations that relate to procurement.

Annual reports must detail the number of consultancy contracts entered into each financial yearas well as the total expenditure on all consultancy services in that year. Additionally, a list ofconsultancy contracts valued at over $10,000 must be published these obligations. This listmust include:

the Consultant’s namea description of the consultancy servicesthe procurement method used to engage the consultantthe value of the consultancythe reasons why the consultancy services were required.

To meet the annual report obligations all arrangements for consultancy services must beregistered as contracts with NPC regardless of the value of the procurement.

34.3 Senate order on departmental and agency contracts

The Senate Order on Departmental and Agency contracts requires a list of all contracts valuedat/over $100,000 (GST inclusive) to be placed on the AFP’s website twice yearly (i.e. at thecommencement of each calendar and financial year - 1 January and 1 July). NPC uses theinformation provided on contract registration forms to meet this obligation. Details of the fullSenate Order reporting obligations are contained in Department of Finance’s (DoF) FinancialManagement Guidance Listing of contract Details on the Internet (Meeting the Senate Order onDepartmental and Agency contracts – FMG 8.

34.4 Contracts exempt from reporting

The AFP has some contracts which are genuinely sensitive. If details of these contracts werereported on AusTender, harm would likely be caused by their disclosure. The Commissioner orhis delegate may direct in writing that details of such contracts are not to be reported onAusTender if the contract details would also be subject to an exemption under the Freedom ofInformation Amendment (Reform) Act 2010. The primary reasons AFP contract details may

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attract an exemption are either:

ensuring enforcement of the law and protection of public safetyprotection of national securityprotection of personal information.

NPC maintain a list of contracts with exemption from reporting on AusTender. This list mayinclude purchase orders not issued in accordance with a formal contract. Officials must providedetails of all proposed purchase orders that are to be exempt from reporting to NPC prior toraising a shopping cart via the Online Purchasing System.

The number of exempt contracts entered into by the AFP must be reported in the annual report.For each of these arrangements the following documents must be forwarded to NPC:

contract registration form that can be found in AFP formssigned copy of the formal contract or details of the proposed purchase order and spendingproposal (for proposed purchase orders not issued in accordance with formal contracts)documented authorisation of the exemption from reporting signed by an appropriatedelegate.

NPC have developed an authorisation for exemption from reporting template to assist officialsseek exemption from reporting. This template is available from the National Procurement andContracts homepage.


The DoF has published on their website guidance on the reporting of contracts which can beaccessed via the following links:

Reporting Requirements for Contracts and Agency Agreements Additional Reporting on Consultancies Additional Reporting on Confidentiality

PART 3: CONTRACT MANAGEMENT

35. Contract basics

A valid contract may be defined as ‘the creation by agreement of legally enforceable rights andobligations between two or more parties’. This definition implies that a number of criticalelements must exist for a contract to be valid:

an agreementbetween 2 or more partiescreating legal obligationsenforceable at law.

Officials who purchase goods or services on behalf of the AFP should be aware that their actionsare binding on the Commonwealth. Care must be exercised not to:

inadvertently enter into a contract issued by a supplier with terms and conditionsunfavourable to the AFP

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create a contract orally or by the exchange of informal documents or letterscreate a contract by issuing instructions to a supplier to proceed with work or the deliveryof goods before a formal contract is signed and issuedamend, vary or extend a contract either orally or by exchange of informal documents oremails.

For this reason, all procurements valued at over $5,000 must be formalised prior to thedelivery of the goods or services by the creation and issue to the supplier one of the contracttypes detailed at s. 19 above.

35.1 Entering into contracts

When entering into contracts officials are subject to Commonwealth legislation and policy andalso to the general commercial law of contract.

Consistent with FMA Regulation 8, officials must not enter into a contract unless FMA Regulation9 and FMA Regulation 10 (if applicable) approval(s) have been provided.

An official must not enter into a contract unless they have delegated authority to do so inaccordance with Annexure B to the Commissioners Financial Instructions (CFIs) - Schedules ofAuthorisations and Delegations.

CFI 06 (Entering into contracts) details the rules that must be followed when entering intocontracts.

The ‘Contract Authorisation’ template should be used when submitting contracts to the delegatefor execution. The contract authorisation template is available from the National Procurementand Contracts homepage.

36. Contract management

Contracts should be actively managed throughout their lives to ensure contractor performanceis satisfactory, value for money is achieved and all contract requirements are met.

36.1 Contract commencement

Once a contract has been signed, a number of activities need to be addressed for the contractrelationship to be properly established to assist in an effective contract start up.

Aspects that may need to be addressed at contract commencement and incorporated into thecontract management plan include:

reviewing and understanding the terms and conditions of the contract and its schedulesdevelopment of contract risk assessmentsestablishing timelines for the completion of tasks or actions required to enable thecontractor to commence work under the contractallocating responsibilities for key aspects of managing the contractidentification of key stakeholdersdeveloping or updating authorisations and delegations relating to expenditure of funds inaccordance with the contract

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ensuring the contractor has appropriate security clearancesorganising contractor access to premises and systemsarranging contractor induction, including cultural, security and health and safety issuesidentification of recordkeeping and reporting requirements and protocols.

36.2 Contract management checklist and contract management plans

A contract management checklist is available from the National Procurement and Contractshomepage.

This checklist, which has been reproduced from the Better Practice Guide - Developing andManaging Contracts (Finance/Australian National Audit Office, February 2007), should be usedby the contract manager or a senior manager with management responsibility for over sightinga contract(s) to gain assurance that the necessary governance arrangements are in place at thecommencement of the contract.

Contracts can range significantly in value, duration, and complexity. As a consequence, thenature and extent of contract management practices will vary depending on size, nature,complexity and risk profile of each contract. Officials involved in managing contracts need toapply judgement about the contract management practices that are appropriate to theirparticular situation. For example:

the contract management checklist may be an appropriate contract management guide forlow value, low risk simple contractsfor contracts that are high in value, risk and/or complex in nature, a more comprehensivecontract management plan should be developed.

A contract management plan incorporates key information about how the contract will bemanaged. It establishes systems and processes to assist in ensuring that the contractorcomplies with the contract terms and conditions during the delivery of the goods or services.

National Procurement and Contracts (NPC) can assist officials to develop contract managementplans tailored for each specific contract. A detailed contract management plan template isavailable from the National Procurement and Contracts homepage.

36.3 Contract administration

Contract administration is an integral element of contract management and overlaps withmonitoring and performance assessment. It encompasses various activities that need to becompleted on a day-to-day basis and includes the following aspects:

Contact details and specified personnel

To assist the overall management of long term contracts, up-to-date records should be kept ofspecified personnel, being:

a service provider’s key personnel as specified in a contractcontact details and accountability measures such as requirements for AFP appointees andsecurity clearances.

Scheduling meetings

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Meetings and particular actions should occur at specific times throughout the life of mostcontracts. A schedule of meetings for parties to the contract, end-users and stakeholdersshould be established in advance, giving the time, place and purpose of the meeting(s). Theschedule should also list any planned contract reviews or other key actions.

Delivery and acceptance of goods or services

On delivery, the goods or services need to be inspected or reviewed and, where necessary,tested against the standards specified in the contract, before formal acceptance under thecontract is completed.

Contract payments

Contract payments must only be made when the contract manager is satisfied that the contractprovisions have been fulfilled. It is also important that payments for satisfactory performanceare made in line with the timeframes/milestones in the contract.

The Commissioner’s Financial Instructions (CFI 08 - Payment) detail the rules that must befollowed when making contract payments.

36.4 Records management

Maintaining contract documentation is critical to accountability and transparency of contractmanagement decisions. AFP contracting activities are subject to audit scrutiny. The most up-to-date version of the contract incorporating any variations should be appropriately stored withinAFP records management systems.

Other contract documentation that must also be maintained within AFP records managementsystems includes:

FMA Regulation 9 and 10 approvals relating to the contractrisk assessmentscontract management plans or checklistsall substantive communications with the contractorevidence of insurances, indemnities, deeds and/or licences required under the contractrecords of briefings of stakeholders and/or management team memberstransition plansrecords of minutes, meetings and discussions relating to the contractcontact lists and task schedulesrecords of paymentsrecords of performance reports, analysis, discussions, performance assessments, feedbackand of any non-compliance or under- or non- performancevariations to the contract and FMA Regulation 9 and 10 approvalsrecords of any disputes and related discussions or negotiationsrecords of contract management assistance or expert advice received.

The AFP National Guideline on information management and the AFP National Guideline onmanaging records provides further information on records management.

36.5 Contract risk management

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Throughout the term of a contract, officials must remain cognisant of risks and their potentialimpacts on delivery of the required goods or services. Risks associated with contractmanagement are generally events, issues or features of a good or service that could jeopardisesuccessful delivery of the contract outcome.

A high-level risk assessment should be conducted for all contracts regardless of value orcomplexity. A detailed risk assessment must be conducted for all contracts valued at $80,000and above and for lower value higher risk procurements such as consultancy services.


The AFP National Guideline on risk management provides further guidance on riskmanagement.

A Procurement Risk Toolkit that includes a comprehensive list of the types of risk that shouldbe considered and managed as part of good contract management practice is available from theNational Procurement and Contracts homepage.

36.7 Relationship management

Relationship management underpins overall successful contract management. A sound basis forthe relationship should have been established during contract negotiation and development. Ifthe contract manager is new to the contractual arrangement, efforts need to be made tounderstand the relationship that exists between the contractor and the AFP. It is particularlyimportant for the contract manager to understand the background to the relationship and beaware of any problems or issues that have arisen at earlier stages of the procurement process.

The relationship between the contractor and the AFP is influenced by the:

type of contractsize and duration of the contractculture of the partiespersonalities of the people involved.

It is important to establish and maintain a constructive relationship and regular communication.Providing positive and constructive feedback will assist in maintaining such a relationship. It isalso important to:

listen to the contractoridentify any problemsaddress problems promptlyexplain decisions in an impartial way.

It is better practice to adopt a structured approach to managing the relationship with thecontractor. This particularly applies to contracts which involve ongoing service delivery or theprovision of consultancy services that extend over a reasonable period of time.

Maintaining a good relationship does not mean the terms of the contract are not enforced whenwarranted. It is about enforcing the terms of the contract in a professional manner based onevidence of contractual performance. Provided the AFP has:

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fulfilled its responsibilitiesprovided early warning of performance problemsmaintained a professional relationship.

Enforcing the terms of the contract should be seen as a reasonable course of action andtherefore one that should not adversely affect the relationship between the parties.

Contract managers must enforce contract conditions as necessary to achieve AFP requirements.

Where performance is being discussed, the contractor should be given the opportunity topresent material on any factors that have caused performance difficulties and to discuss anyproposed remedial action.Contract relationships should be managed in a professional manner and be based oncooperation and mutual understanding taking into account the need for probity and ethicalbehaviour.

36.8 Managing performance

Performance management must be undertaken throughout the life of every contract, whetherstraightforward or complex.

In most cases contracts are completed without problems but contract managers need to beprepared to address any problems promptly as they arise in accordance with agreedprocedures. Along with performance indicators and standards, arrangements for monitoring andassessment should have been set out and agreed in the contract along with action that wouldresult for non performance.

Many contract performance problems can be avoided by managing the relationship well. Under-performance can be minimised by having a performance regime that allows prompt andongoing feedback, particularly in relation to critical timeframes or deliverables. The contractmanager must be aware of any signs of potential under-performance and address them, to theextent possible, before they become serious. Addressing under-performance in this way canavoid the problem worsening and/or the contractor being confronted by a problem that the AFPhas known about for a period of time.

Providing the contractor with early warning may mean that it easier to address the issues atlow cost and with minimal disruption. At the early stages of under-performance, agreeingremedial action will often be the best approach, for example:

replacing or using additional personnelreporting back more frequently on progressmodifying processes or systemsclarifying AFP requirements.

Depending on the seriousness of the under-performance, formal action may need to be taken,including:

withholding payments until performance returns to an acceptable levelinvolving senior management from both parties in formal discussions or writtencommunicationsdeveloping strategies to address the problem and formally documenting themtracking whether they are working in practice

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implementing other formal mechanisms included in the contract.

NPC and AFP Legal should be consulted for issues relating to under-performance of acontractor.

36.9 Management reporting

Contracting activity represents an important business activity, often involving a significant levelof expenditure and the utilisation of substantial in-house resources. As a result, inadequatecontract management practices will have a direct adverse impact on the capacity to meetbusiness objectives.

It is recommended that business areas incorporate reporting on contracting activity into theirregular management reporting arrangements. This should involve the development of a numberof contracting performance measures and the periodic measurement and reporting againstthem as an integral part of the management reporting regime. This will assist in reinforcing theimportance of good contracting practices and also provide assurance to senior management onthe AFP’s performance in this area, including its compliance with policy and reportingrequirements.

Examples of performance measures include:

establishing benchmarks on targets for key steps in the procurement cycle such as thelead time from the date of approval of a spending proposal to the signing of a contractthe details of unresolved contract management issues in relation to each contractinstances where procurement activities are not in accordance with the CommonwealthProcurement Rulesthe number and percentage of procurements that have used Panel arrangements orstanding offersthe number and percentage of limited tender procurement activities valued at over$80,000.

36.10 Intellectual property

Officials must identify intellectual property (IP) issues as part of contract management. Adviceshould be sought from AFP Legal regarding these issues.

The majority of goods and services purchased by the AFP involve some form of IP. Mostcontracts include detailed clauses regarding ownership and licensing for:

new IPpre-existing AFP IPservice provider or third party IP.

Generally these clauses vest ownership of newly created IP in the AFP as the representative ofthe Commonwealth.

When a consultant or contractor already owns IP (background IP or pre-existing IP), the AFPgenerally obtains an irrevocable license to use that pre-existing IP in conjunction with anynewly developed IP.

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New IP created during the course of a contract must be added to the AFP IP register. IPregistration is an important part of the AFP's management and protection of its IP assets.

The AFP National Guideline on intellectual property, commercialisation, logos and insigniaprovides further guidance on the management of IP in contracts.

36.11 Quality assurance

Business areas should incorporate quality assurance reviews of contract management activitiesin their respective business areas. This could involve periodic reviews of contract managementplans and files which can assist in identifying inconsistent practices and identifying areas forimprovement.

37. Contract variations

Procedures for initiating and processing variations should be clearly defined in the contract.Systems should be in place to ensure variations are efficiently managed, including explicitauthorisation procedures and reporting systems.

Contract variations may include provisions that:

increase, decrease or omit part of the contracted goods or serviceschange the scope or design in the course of manufacture, supply or service deliverychange the character or quality of the goods or servicesamend contract terms and conditionsorder ‘additional services’ where provided for in a contractterminate a contract.

A contract variation must not be executed without both:

FMA Regulation 9 approval of a spending proposal and, if necessary, FMA Regulation 10authorisation (Note: the delegate approving the spending proposal must have sufficientdelegation to cover the entire value of the contract and not just the value of the proposedvariation)formalisation of the variation by issue of a letter of variation that has been signed by arelevant delegate

National procurement and contracts must be consulted during the development of a spendingproposal for any contract variation that:

relates to a contract valued at $80,000 or morethat increases the total contract value to above $80,000relates to provision of consultancy services.

AFP Legal should be consulted for assistance with drafting high value, high risk contractvariations.

Some AFP contracts have provision for additional goods or services to be procured inaccordance with specific clauses. National Procurement and Contracts (NPC) must be consultedin relation to the procurement of any additional services in accordance with such clauses. Additional goods or services are usually procured by the issue of an official order.

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A variation may only be allowed if the scope and relative cost of the variation remain within thelimits of the original procurement. Additional goods or services that increase the scope of acontract may need to be treated as a new procurement and may require a new approach to themarket, particularly where the total contract value exceeds the threshold for a procurement.

Unauthorised or informal changes to a contract have the same effect as a formal variation. It ispossible to vary a contract verbally, or by conduct, even where the contract has an expressprovision that variations must be in writing. These changes may fundamentally alter the scopeof the contract.

Contract managers must ensure that clients in other parts of the AFP are not communicatingdirectly with the contractors and committing the AFP to unapproved contract variations.

38. Contract extensions

A contract term may only be extended if that contract contains provisions/options that allowsuch extensions. Prior to exercising any option to extend a contract, officials must review thecontract with regard to supplier performance and the market and whether the arrangement willcontinue to represent value for money for the AFP.

The exercise of any contract extension must be in accordance with the terms and conditions ofthe existing contract and comply with the Commonwealth Procurement Rules (CPRs)requirement for demonstrating value for money.

Contract extensions must not be automatic. Consideration of a possible extension shouldcommence in sufficient time to allow the alternatives to be considered and possibly exercised. Sufficient time must be allowed to prepare for an approach to the market and selection of analternative supplier before the current contract term expires.

Action to exercise an option to extend a contract or go to market must commence no later than6 months prior to expiry of the contract unless an alternative timeframe is specified within inthe contract.

Contracts without an option to extend cannot be extended. Any arrangement to continue anexpired contract on a month to month basis is contrary to the CPRs.

A contract extension must not be executed without:

FMA Regulation 9 approval of a spending proposal and, if necessary, FMA Regulation 10approval in writing (Note: the delegate approving the spending proposal must havesufficient delegation to cover the entire value of the contract and not just the value of theproposed extension)development of a spending proposal in consultation with National Procurement andContracts for any contract extension involving a procurement valued at $80,000 or moreformalisation by issue of a letter or deed between the parties that has been signed by theappropriate delegate.

39. Finalising the contract

Some contracts will have formal transition out plans for when the contract ends. These planstypically detail the obligations to be performed by each party in connection with the orderly

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transition of services delivery from the service provider to the AFP or its nominee, including:

provision of all reasonable assistance to the AFP for the orderly transfer of services,functions and operations provided under the contract to the AFP or its nomineeensuring the accuracy and currency of documentation relevant to the continuing delivery ofthe services and replacement of missing documentation as necessarythe return to the AFP, or destruction as nominated by the AFP, of any data, documentationor materials containing any confidential information, including any reproductions of, ormedia capable of reproducing, such data, documentation or materialsfull review of all procedures and software with any replacement service provider and/or theAFPgeneration of a data backup in a form reasonably requested by the AFPprovision of access to the AFP and any replacement service provider to all necessarybusiness and technical information relevant to the provision of the services or similarservicesmigration of current work to the AFP or a replacement service providerprovision of information on an as-needed basis following termination or expiry of thecontract.

Where there is no formal transition out plan, below are a number of important activities thatshould be performed at the completion of any contractual arrangement or as part of thetransition to a new arrangement:

finalising administrative requirements, such as:verifying all contractual obligations have been successfully metobtaining all final reports and clearances from the contractormaking arrangements regarding warranties available under the contractterminating all access arrangementsundertaking post-contract analysis, evaluation and reporting.

managing transition arrangements – this generally involves:undertaking a new procurement processre-negotiating the contract with the current contractor in accordance with the CPRstaking up options in the current contract to extend its life, based on assessment ofvalue for money.

conducting an evaluation – to get the best out of the evaluation, this involves:reviewing all aspects of contract performance and managementproviding feedback to the contractor (not as part of another procurement process)reporting to stakeholdersdocumenting lessons learned.

40. Further advice

Queries about the content of this guideline should be referred to the National Procurement andContracts team.

41. References

Legislation

Archives Act 1983 (Cth)

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Australian Federal Police Act 1979 (Cth)Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997 (Cth)Financial Management and Accountability Regulations 1997 (Cth)Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth)Freedom of Information Amendment (Reform) Act 2010 (Cth)Public Works Committee Act 1969 (Cth)Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992 (Cth)Superannuation (Productivity Benefit) Act 1988 (Cth)

AFP instruments

AFP National Guideline on risk managementAFP National Guideline on software management and copyrightAFP National Guideline on intellectual property, commercialisation, logos and insigniaAFP National Guideline on managing recordsAFP National Guideline on information managementAFP National Guideline on the disclosure of informationCommissioners Financial InstructionsCommissioners Order on Administration (CO1)Commissioner’s Order on Security (CO9)

Other

National Procurement and Contracts homepageCommonwealth Procurement RulesBetter Practice Guide - Developing and Managing Contracts (Dept. of Finance andAdministration/Australian National Audit Office, February 2007), which contains morecomprehensive contract management guidanceFinance Circular 2003/02 - Guidelines for Issuing and Managing Indemnities, Guarantees,Warranties and Letters of ComfortFinance Circular - 2006/03 – Limited Liability in Information and CommunicationsTechnology contractsRequirements for Annual Reports for Departments, Executive Agencies and FMA Act Bodies(Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet (June 2008)Department of Finance’s (DoF) Procurement Policy Framework.

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Documents

1. Disclosure and compliance - Australian Federal Police National... · FOR INTERNAL AFP USE ONLY AFP National Guideline on procurement and contracting 1. Disclosure and compliance