The Albanese Labor Government recognizes the important contribution small businesses make to the Australian economy and is committed to ensuring a level playing field for small businesses when competing for contracts with the Australian Government.
Today’s release of the Australian Small Business and Family Business Ombudsman’s (ASBFEO) Final Procurement Inquiry Report shows the importance of supporting businesses accessing Commonwealth procurement.
The Australian Government allocates an average of $70 billion each year to procurement activities. Small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) account for a significant amount of that spending: more than $20 billion, or 27.3 percent of government contracts, were awarded to SMEs in 2022-23.
The Albanese Labor Government continues to exceed its target of 20 per cent procurement for SMEs.
The Government continues to look for ways to improve opportunities for SMEs to participate in public procurement through a fairer and simpler system.
We thank ASBFEO for their work examining the impact on SMEs as a result of the 1 July 2022 changes to the Commonwealth Procurement Rules.
The Government supports most of the ASBFEO recommendations.
Reforms are already underway to address some of the issues highlighted in the report, including supporting procurement capacity for both SMEs and the APS, greater transparency and simplified processes for SMEs to interact with the procurement platform. Government Procurement, AusTender, and the Payment Time Reporting Scheme.
The government’s Buy Australian Plan is committed to opening the door to more government work for SMEs by decoding and simplifying public procurement.
In 2023-24, the Department of Finance delivered 60 training sessions to more than 2,200 APS officers, including contract management courses covering ethical behaviour, conflict management and performance management. Finance is also engaging directly with businesses to improve industry awareness of opportunities to compete for Australian Government contracts.
This is part of the Government’s aim to have a procurement system that Australians can trust, that provides opportunities for Australian businesses and SMEs and offers value for money for taxpayers.
Finance Minister Senator Katy Gallagher said the Albanese Government will continue to focus on raising awareness of SMEs and will work with the APS to better engage with businesses.
“SMEs are the engine of this nation. We want to ensure the government is the preferred buyer for SMEs and ensures good value for money for Australians,” Minister Gallagher said.
“We are committed to supporting SMEs to participate in public procurement and our response to the ASBFEO investigation reaffirms that commitment.”
“Procurement reforms are just one way the Government supports small businesses through competitive and fair market conduct,” said Small Business Minister, the Hon Julie Collins MP.
“Other government initiatives and reforms include improving payment times for small businesses, eliminating unfair contract terms and establishing a designated complaints function for small businesses.”
The full report and the Government’s response are available at finance website.
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