Queensland Government Supplier Code of Conduct

Application

Agencies subject to the Queensland Procurement Policy must apply the Code within invitation documents and contracts for each procurement.

Where common-use supply arrangements or contracts do not include provision for the Code, agencies should apply the Code on ‘refresh’ of the arrangement or when exercising a variation or renewal to the arrangement or contract.

• Refer to Rule 9, Queensland Procurement Rules, Queensland Procurement Policy.
• It is strongly recommended that you*
  • consider rewording to fit the required procurement
  • seek procurement and legal review in accordance with your agency’s procurement procedures.

*This is guidance only to support application.

Example invitation question and contract clauses

An example of a question requesting suppliers to warrant compliance with the Code and how the resultant contract clause would be worded is outlined below.

The question will be evaluated based on a ‘yes/no’ response in the form of a mandatory evaluation criteria and will not be weighted.

Invitation question

• Does your organisation warrant that it complies, and will continue to comply, with the Queensland Government Supplier Code of Conduct for the duration of any resulting contract?

Contract clauses

• The Supplier must comply with the Queensland Government Supplier Code of Conduct for the duration of this Contract. Compliance with the Code is a material obligation of this Contract.
• The Code does not limit or replace any other obligations under this Contract, law, regulation or applicable standards.
• The Supplier must take reasonable steps to ensure that its employees, subcontractors, and supply chain comply with the Queensland Government Supplier Code of Conduct for the duration of this Contract.
• The Supplier must notify the Customer in writing within ten (10) business days if it becomes aware of any actual or potential non-compliance with the Queensland Government Supplier Code of Conduct. The Customer may require the Supplier to provide a plan to remedy the non-compliance within a timeframe specified by the Customer.
• The Customer may, at its discretion, require the Supplier to provide evidence of compliance with the Queensland Government Supplier Code of Conduct.
• The Queensland Government may, from time-to-time, update or amend the Queensland Government Supplier Code of Conduct. The Supplier is solely responsible for informing themselves and ensuring compliance with any updates or amendments to the Queensland Government Supplier Code of Conduct.
• The Customer is under no obligation to inform the Supplier of any updates or amendments to the Queensland Government Supplier Code of Conduct.

Managing adverse responses during the tender process

In a procurement, there may be situations where a supplier declares that either:

• they are not compliant with the Code
  or
• they are not compliant with the Code with a commitment to becoming compliant at a later stage in the procurement.

Agencies should carefully prepare the evaluation plan to address situations where an offer returns a negative or adverse response to mandatory evaluation criteria.

In Situation No. 1, agencies reserve the right to do business with suppliers which demonstrate compliance with the Code. Where this is done, an agency can then choose to set aside from further evaluation an offer from a non-compliant supplier.

In Situation No. 2, while it is ultimately a matter for the agency concerned, actions could include:

• asking the supplier concerned to provide details on the non-compliance, and the action and timeframes needed to ensure compliance
• only ultimately awarding a contract to a supplier who will be compliant by the contract's date of commencement.

Contract management

Contracted commitments in relation to the Code should be monitored and managed regularly in the same way as other commitments such as quality and costs, for example by applying key performance indicators and relying on contract clauses to address instances of non-compliance with the Code.

Refer to Contract management guidance for further support.

Contacts

For more information, contact:

• the procuring agency about any concerns regarding breaches of the Code
• the Queensland Police Service, Australian Federal Police, or the Crime and Corruption Commission about any concerns regarding illegal or corrupt activity
• the relevant regulatory body about any concerns regarding breaches of regulation
• the Queensland Government Procurement Compliance Branch for any compliance-related matter
• Queensland Government Procurement at ProcurementPolicy@qld.gov.au or phone 13 QGOV (13 74 68) if you have any questions regarding the Code.