Victorian Government Purchasing Board procurement requirements
08/06/2021
From 1 July 2021, the Victorian Government Purchasing Board (VGPB) will require more Government agencies to meet its procurement requirements. Government agencies will have until 30 June 2022 to be compliant.
Agencies will need to align with the VGPB policies by 30 June 2022. It’s imperative that agencies review their compliance immediately to address any discrepancies between their current procurement policies and the VGPB policies and procedures prior to the deadline.
Who do the VGPB policies now apply to?
The VGPB’s goods and services policies apply to:
- departments and specified entities including VGPB expansion agencies from 1 July 2021
- Victoria Public Sector Commission
- offices or bodies specified in section 16(1) of the Public Administration Act 2004, and
- Administrative Offices established in relation to a department under section 11(a) of the Public Administration Act 2004.
A full list of the departments, agencies and VGPB expansion agencies who these changes will impact is available on the Buying For Victoria website.
Key next step: Gap analysis
A gap analysis and action plan is necessary to understand and develop key processes for adoption of the VGPB requirements. The VGPB requirements are seen as best practice procurement, not just for government agencies, but across all sectors.
Common gaps in procurement frameworks
SW has extensive experience in undertaking procurement reviews as internal auditors, probity auditors and advisors to assist clients to comply and ensure best practice. Through this work, common gaps that have been identified include:
- inadequate policies and associated procedures to support consistency and hence demonstrate compliance
- lack of checklists to facilitate compliance and monitoring
- a lack of training and awareness on the what and why of the compliance requirements, and
- tendering processes lacking adequate evidence gathering and recordkeeping to support a probity audit and/or compliance.
How SW can assist
Contact one of our experts below to discuss how the changes to the VGPB may affect your procurement requirements.
We can:
- conduct a gap analysis
- assist you to design/amend policies, procedures and templates to address the gaps
- develop and deliver the required training and awareness programs
- assist to embed the policies and procedures, and
- develop monitoring procedures (including data analytics and software based checklists).
Don’t get caught out last minute!
