DFAT Annual Report 2006-2007 : Appendix 11 List of sponsors

Consultancy services

Consistent with the Government’s policy to focus available resources on core functions, and recognising the value of the different perspectives that consultants can bring to policy and operational issues, the department engages consultants where skills are currently unavailable in the department, there is a need for specialised or professional skills, or there is a need for independent research or assessment. All contracts (including consultancies) valued over $10 000 entered into in Australia, or entered into overseas with an Australian supplier, are published in the Government’s electronic gazettal system, AusTender (www.tenders.gov.au).

Selection processes

The process used for selecting consultants, both in Australia and at overseas posts, is consistent with the department’s broader procurement policies and the Commonwealth Procurement Guidelines—January 2005, and is based on the principle of ‘value for money’. Selection methods are as follows:

Open tender

Consultancies over $80 000 (GST inclusive) are advertised in AusTender, the Government’s electronic publishing service, and where deemed appropriate, in the print media, inviting all businesses that satisfy the conditions for participation to submit tenders. In Australia, open tenders are also advertised on the department’s internet site (www.dfat.gov.au/tenders). Overseas, open tenders are advertised on the post’s website.

Select tender

A limited number of organisations or individuals are invited to submit tenders for particular consultancies in accordance with the mandatory procurement procedures (Commonwealth Procurement Guidelines). These firms are identified:

through their expertise in a particular field
as representing a particular cultural or other interest group
as belonging to a multi-use list (consisting of pre-qualified potential suppliers that have satisfied the conditions for inclusion on the list, for example Government Endorsed Supplier Arrangement for IT services).

In Australia, select sourcing tenders are also advertised on the department’s internet site for the information of any other supplier that believes it would be competitive in meeting the tender requirements.

Direct sourcing

A consultant is permitted to be sourced directly under certain special conditions as outlined in section 8 of the Commonwealth Procurement Guidelines.

Panel

An arrangement under which a number of suppliers, usually selected through a single procurement process, may each supply property or services to an agency as specified in the panel arrangements.

Consultancy services let

The following table lists consultancy services contracts let during the year to the value of $10 000 or more (inclusive of GST, where applicable), including the contract price for the consultancy and the reason for the decision to engage consultancy services.

TABLE 30. CONSULTANCY SERVICES CONTRACTS LET DURING THE YEAR
Consultant name	Description	Contract price*	Selection process	Justification
Applied Economics	Construction of a new passport demand forecast model	47 520	Select tender	B
CB Richard Ellis	Independent review of the property market—Seoul	12 723	Select tender	B
DTZ Zadelhoff Tie Leung International Property Advisors	Independent review of the property market—Budapest	13 383	Select tender	B
Gartner Asia Pacific	Specialist advice—IT research and advisory services	33 440	Direct sourcing	B
Grosvenor Management Consulting	Development of a capital works procedures manual	79 352	Select tender	A
Grosvenor Management Consulting	Procurement support services—overseas property services tender	195 810	Open tender	B
Grosvenor Management Consulting	Specialist advice—property services market and contract review	47 187	Direct sourcing	B
Hay Group	Specialist advice—locally engaged staff salaries, Singapore	20 529	Select tender	C
Hendry Group (VIC)	Property compliance audits— Pacific and South America	665 478	Open tender	B
iCognition	Independent advice—records management services	27 155	Select tender	A
International Trade Strategies	Economic research into a potential Australia–Korea FTA	115 500	Open tender	C
JJ McDonald & Sons	Site investigation and land survey—Dili	46 500	Select tender	B
Jones Lang LaSalle (Korea)	Independent review of the property market—Seoul	13 890	Select tender	B
Knight Frank (Kenya)	Independent review of the property market—Nairobi	15 063	Select tender	B
KPMG	Independent review of ICT governance structures and systems	70 840	Select tender	B
National Farmers’ Federation	Promotion of Australia’s trade interests	25 000	Direct sourcing	B
Odysseia Turizm Ve Danismanlik	Independent review of the property market—Canakkale	10 253	Select tender	B
PT Dayamandiri Dharmakonsilindo	Specialist advice—locally engaged staff conditions of service, Jakarta	22 765	Direct sourcing	B
Queensland Consulting Project Partners (QCPP)	Project management services—Dhaka	384 644	Select tender	A
Sinclair Knight Merz	Specialist advice—seismic evaluation, Kathmandu	79 803	Open tender	B
Sparke Helmore	Probity advisor—overseas property services tender	14 133	Panel	B
The Adelaide Research & Innovation Investment Trust	Represent Australia in the Comprehensive Economic Partnership in East Asia Study Group	59 400	Select tender	C
The Treasury	Review of the current passport demand forecast model	20 000	Direct sourcing	B
The Trustee for PCM Unit Trust (Historic name: Property Concept & Management)	Property management and strategic planning	92 000	Direct sourcing	B
Unisys Australia	Project management and consultancy services for DFAT FMIS system	55 495	Direct sourcing	C
Unisys Australia	Provision of specialist consultants to develop DFAT’s business intelligence framework	79 500	Direct sourcing	C
United Group Process Solutions	Property compliance audits—Asia	693 784	Open tender	B
University of New South Wales	Specialist advice—physical security	70 000	Direct sourcing	B
WalterTurnbull	Consultancy services—development of a pandemic influenza contingency plan	12 705	Select tender	B
Woods Bagot (Thailand)	Specialist advice—residential site inspection and evaluation	60 381	Select tender	B
Total		3 084 234

* Figures may not add due to rounding.

Explanation of selection process terms drawn from the Commonwealth Procurement Guidelines (January 2005):
Open tender—A procurement procedure in which a request for tender is published inviting all business that satisfy the conditions for participation to submit tenders. Public tenders are sought from the marketplace using national and major metropolitan newspaper advertising and the Australian Government AusTender internet site.
Select tender—A procurement procedure in which the procuring agency selects which potential suppliers are invited to submit tenders. Tenders are invited from a short list of competent suppliers.
Direct sourcing—A form of restricted tendering, available only under certain defined circumstances, with a single potential supplier or suppliers being invited to bid because of their unique expertise and/or their special ability to supply the goods and/or services sought.
Panel—An arrangement under which a number of suppliers, usually selected through a single procurement process, may each supply property or services to an agency as specified in the panel arrangements. Tenders are sought from suppliers that have pre-qualified on the agency panels to supply to the government. This category includes standing offers and supplier panels where the consultant offers to supply goods and services for a pre-determined length of time, usually at a pre-arranged price.

Justification for decision to use consultancy:
A—skills currently unavailable within the agency
B—need for specialised or professional skills
C—need for independent research or assessment

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