​​Putting your tender documents together

Produce your RFx documents

Make sure you:

• clearly describe the goods or services you want to purchase, including any broader outcomes you want to achieve
• define any limits to the scope of what you want to buy, eg if you are re-using existing goods and services that are related to the purchase
• use plain English and write as succinctly as possible. Avoid legalese, jargon and acronyms
• don't draft your requirements or specification in a way that creates unnecessary obstacles for suppliers or providers
• align your requirements, the evaluation criteria and the response form questions – eg if the supplier must have a particular accreditation, make sure there is a matching evaluation criterion and a response form question asking for details
• avoid asking for unnecessary information.

Rule 38: Content of notice of procurement

You can use one of our standardised RFx templates that reflect good procurement practice and are designed for use across all government agencies.

Templates: Government Model RFx

Add supporting information or requests

Attach a copy of the contract

It's good practice to attach a copy of the intended contract to the RFP. You can make it a condition of each potential supplier's response that they state whether or not they're prepared to be bound by the terms and conditions of the contract.

Requesting separate pricing information

If your chosen evaluation model requires the evaluation panel to evaluate the non-price criteria without knowledge of pricing information, you can ask the supplier to submit their offer in two sealed envelopes, or for electronic submissions, in two separate templates:

1. the response to the requirements
2. all pricing information.

Decide on your evaluation methodology

Sustainability questions

You may want to ask potential suppliers how they deal with the following:

• environmental management systems
• employment practices
• corporate social responsibility practices
• approach to greenhouse gas emissions
• sustainability improvements already achieved
• approach to packaging.

Decide the timeframe

Make sure you've allowed enough time for suppliers or providers to respond to opportunities. The Government Procurement Rules (Rule 30 and Rule 34) set minimum time periods for each type of procurement process.

In your planning, consider how long it will take a provider to:

• read and analyse the documentation
• seek clarification and ask any questions if required
• prepare pricing information
• develop and submit a proposal, potentially including agreeing arrangements with sub-contractors or other partners.

Be aware of active RFx from other agencies that might affect how much time suppliers have to respond.

It's good practice to include an excerpt from your timeline in the RFP so that suppliers have an indication of when offers will be evaluated and when they might expect to know the outcome. Don’t underestimate how long the overall process will take.

Advertise the opportunity

Choose the correct GETS code to ensure the right suppliers receive the notification – your procurement specialist can help with this.

If you're registered as a buyer on GETS, you can also search and confirm that known suppliers are registered on GETS.

To reach as many potential suppliers as possible, consider sending out a communication via other networks, such as NGO umbrella bodies. Make sure you point suppliers to the GETS advertisement, rather than sending the contract opportunity directly.

GETS