Social procurement: Frequently asked questions

Social procurement in government is when a buyer uses their purchasing power to generate social value in addition to the goods and/or services they require.

Social value

We describe 'Social benefit from procurement' as the positive impacts on people, places or communities generated through procurement practices.

When undertaking procurement activities, social value considerations include, but aren't limited to:

the creation of training and employment opportunities, particularly for disadvantaged or marginalised jobseekers (such as people with disability)
considering supplier’s corporate social responsibility policies and practices
addressing complex local challenges, such as intergenerational unemployment, crime, vandalism and economic decline in local communities or amongst disengaged groups
encouraging local economic development and growth
helping people to participate in the community and the economy
engaging social value suppliers such as a social enterprise providing them with the same opportunities as other businesses.

Which social value(s) you should focus on

It's important to make your aims relevant to the community, as social values may differ depending on the community. You should also consider government and agency goals.

Why you should consider social benefits

Incorporating social value into your purchasing decisions can significantly impact Queensland communities, especially supporting vulnerable or disadvantaged individuals.

Social Benefit Suppliers

Social value suppliers are organisations which have a social purpose or mission at the core of their operations and are often owned or managed by disadvantaged groups, for example, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesses.

Social enterprises

Social enterprises are an example of social value suppliers. Social enterprises are an organisation that:

is led by an economic, social, cultural or environmental mission consistent with a public or community benefit
trades to fulfil their mission and derive a substantial portion of their income from trade
reinvests most of their profit/surplus into the fulfilment of their mission.

The following social enterprise directories are recognised by the Queensland Government, as determined by the Director-General, Department of Housing and Public Works:

Social Traders Social Enterprise Finder
People and Planet First social enterprises directory via Queensland Social Enterprise Council directory.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander business

Under the Queensland Procurement Policy 2026, an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander business include:

Indigenous-owned businesses
Indigenous not-for-profit organisations
Queensland Indigenous local councils.

All, except Queensland Indigenous local councils, must be registered on at least one recognised Indigenous business directory.

You can find the definition of the various types of entities that constitute an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander business in Part 4 Glossary of the Queensland Procurement Policy (QPP) 2026.

The following Indigenous business directories are recognised by the Queensland Government, as determined by the Director-General, Department of Women, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships and Multiculturalism:

How to add social value to procurements

Small purchases

Low value, low risk purchases via quotes or corporate credit cards are a great way to have an impact when buying goods or services like catering or printing. These smaller purchases will often suit buying directly from local social value providers.

They play an important role in promoting social procurement practice within government agencies, help social value suppliers remain viable, prove their capacity as suppliers and 'scale up' as they gain more regular access to government jobs.

It helps if you know who the social value suppliers are in your region and what they can provide.

Common-use supply arrangement

Integrate diverse suppliers such as social enterprises into common-use supply agreements such as Standing Offer Arrangements. This could include:

utilising diverse suppliers on existing common use common-use supply agreements – e.g. direct procurement, ensuring you invite one diverse supplier to tender

refresh common-use supplier arrangement to include diverse suppliers if there is no or few diverse suppliers on the panel

when planning for new common-use supply agreements consider strategies increase the number of diverse suppliers applying for the expression of interest – e.g. webinars tailored to diverse suppliers, advertising strategies beyond QTENDERS.

Significant procurements

There are different ways to add social value to a procurement project. It is important to plan early and carefully.

Set-asides

These are a form of selective offer method that involves reserving or setting aside certain government procurement contracts for diverse suppliers or specified types of suppliers, for example, to develop a diverse and competitive supplier pool for government.

Only the suppliers which meet the characteristic identified in the set-aside will be invited to quote or tender in the first instance.

Under QPP2026, agencies may access an exemption from seeking multiple quotes (i.e may use a limited offer method) if the procurement can be met by a diverse supplier (such as a social enterprise) and the procurement value is less than the diverse supplier exemption threshold of:

$500,000 including GST for goods and services
$8.5 million including GST for construction services.

Social value clauses

You can include social value requirements as clauses in tender and contract documents.

For example, a clause might require Aboriginal and Torres Islander employees to be engaged on a project or procurement from social enterprise targets.

Breaking down large procurements

Sometimes it's possible to break down larger procurements into smaller components; this might be done by region or by function.

Breaking down a contract may make it possible for social value suppliers and small businesses to bid for government work, increasing supplier diversity.

For more information about adding social value when buying for government, refer to the Social Procurement Guide.

Consistency with the Queensland Procurement Policy (QPP)

Social value procurement is consistent with QPP 2026, strategic pillars in particular.

Pillar 1 – Value for Queensland

Deliver value for taxpayers’ money and ensure fair and open competition.

This includes applying a purposeful public procurement approach throughout the procurement process considering added value for economic, environmental, social and governance outcomes.

Pillar 2 – Local opportunities

Create opportunities for local suppliers, with an emphasis on small and family businesses and regional enterprises, wherever practical.

This includes increasing spend with small and family businesses and medium enterprises, regional businesses, social enterprises, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesses, where appropriate.

Pillar 5 - Practical economic, environmental and social impact

Drive sustainable procurement practices and build a diverse supplier base including support for social enterprises and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesses.

Measuring progress under QPP2026

Achieve the Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander procurement target to source at least 3% of procurement by value from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesses.
Increase the total number and value of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesses engaged as subcontractors each year for projects subject to the Queensland Charter for Local Content or declared by the Minister responsible for government procurement, Minister responsible for local industry policy or the Premier of Queensland.
Increase the number and value of contracts with social enterprises each year.

Value for money

All procurements, including those which have social value requirements, must be built upon the value for money.

This pillar focuses on maximising the economic and community-based benefits of public procurement by recognising that value for money is more than just the lowest price.

Quality of goods and services

Social procurement need never compromise on quality. Any supplier must be able to provide the product or service to the specified quality. Quality requirements must be stipulated in tender specifications and contractual provisions.

Including social value

You don't need to make significant structural or organisational changes to your procurement policies and processes to include social value.

Social procurement is an opportunity to add value to government spending and achieve real benefits in communities.

Supplier delivery of social value

Suppliers of all types are embracing the opportunity to contribute to their communities. This helps them meet their corporate social responsibilities and to promote their businesses.

Many mainstream businesses are leading the way when it comes to delivering social value; some do this by:

including social value suppliers in their supply chains
directly addressing government priorities, such as creating opportunities for apprentices
employing young people and long-term unemployed people.

Engaging with potential suppliers early in the procurement planning stage will help you understand social procurement opportunities and the market's capacity to deliver.

Evaluation weighting for social value clauses

There is no policy requirement to apply either a minimum or maximum weighting to social value clauses on non-significant procurement.

For significant procurement (which is procurement of goods and/or services above a threshold determined by the agency as being high value and/or high risk), there are purposeful procurement evaluation criterion that must be applied.

For more information about purposeful public procurement, refer to the Queensland Procurement Policy.

More information

Read Consider social procurement for contact details and additional advice and resources.