ABS procurement and contracts

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) procurement and contracting activities are undertaken in accordance with the Commonwealth Procurement Rules which establish the Australian Government’s policy framework for procurement. These rules are applied consistently to procurement activities through ABS Accountable Authority Instructions, supporting operational guidelines and procurement framework.

The ABS advertises open tenders and expressions of interest on the Australian Government tendering website AusTender, in accordance with the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability (PGPA) Act 2013.

The ABS Annual Procurement Plan can also be found on AusTender.

Senate Order on Entity Contracts for the financial year and calendar year reporting periods

The Senate Order on Entity Contracts requires non-corporate Commonwealth entities to publish details of contracts entered into which have not been fully performed or which have been entered into in the previous 12 months, and which provide for a consideration to the value of $100,000 or more.

Some of the contracts listed contain confidentiality provisions of a general nature that are designed to protect the confidential information of the parties that may be obtained or generated in carrying out the contract. The reasons for including such clauses include:

1. ordinary commercial prudence that requires protection of trade secrets, proprietary information and the like; and/or
2. protection of other Commonwealth material and personal information.

The Accountable Authority of ABS has assured that the listed contracts do not contain any inappropriate confidentiality provisions.

ABS Procurement contracts are available through the Senate Order Report located on AusTender.

The estimated total cost of compliance with the Senate Order

The estimated total cost of complying with the Senate Order is $1,250.00.​​ ​​

The method used to calculate this estimate was based on the average salary level of each staff member involved, the hours dedicated to the task and associated administrative costs.

Under the Government Procurement (Judicial Review) Act 2018, you may lodge a complaint against an ABS procurement where you believe that the ABS has not followed the Commonwealth Procurement Rules.

Lodging a complaint

In the first instance, please raise your concerns for resolution with the ABS Contact Officer for the relevant procurement.

If your complaint remains unresolved please email procurement@abs.gov.au providing

• The procurement title or reference number,
• A statement of your complaint and the outcome sought,
• Information to support your complaint, and
• Details of any resolution attempts to date.

Management of complaints

The ABS will acknowledge receipt of your complaint in writing within 7 business days. Your complaint will be investigated and you will be kept informed of our progress and estimated timeframes for resolution.

An ABS Delegate not been directly involved in the procurement process, will be appointed to:

• Review the investigation and findings,
• Consider recommendations, including the scope of any investigation, and
• Notify you of a decision, including the basis for the decision.

If you are not satisfied with the outcome of the investigation, you may lodge a complaint with the Commonwealth Ombudsman or the Australian Government Procurement Coordinator.