February 3rd, 2022New Hepburn Shire Council procurement policy

Hepburn Shire Council has adopted a new Procurement Policy to guide how it spends money with suppliers.

The policy covers the principles, procedures and processes that apply to the purchase of goods and services, including carrying out works. It seeks to promote open and fair competition and value for money, along with broader social benefits including employment opportunities.

Council’s Chief Executive Officer Bradley Thomas said the new policy introduces a number of improvements and incorporates objectives of the four-year Council Plan.

“Sustainability and the local economy are both central to our Council Plan, and to reflect this we’ve increased the weighting of each of these factors from 5 per cent, up to 7.5 per cent when awarding contracts,” said Mr Thomas.

“We’ve also introduced a mandatory new evaluation criterion for Social Procurement which aims to help meet wider social objectives,” he said.

“Suppliers will be invited to outline how they will support employment opportunities for people from disadvantaged groups, apprentices and trainees or older people; secure services from Indigenous groups; or provide other social or community benefits.

“This is a way for community projects to deliver an added social benefit with broader employment outcomes whilst achieving value for money.

“Hepburn Shire is a beautiful part of the world and we encourage businesses to register on our e-tender portal at www.hepburn.vic.gov.au/tenders to receive notification of quotes and tenders.”