In Defence, the award of a contract will occur once all internal approvals have been undertaken. The process for awarding a contract/ entering into an arrangement varies depending on the procurement process undertaken. A contract may be as simple as issuing a purchase order with standard terms and conditions, an order under a standing offer, or a comprehensive contract developed using a Departmental contracting template such as ASDEFCON contracting template. The award of the contract will also usually result in the reporting of the contract on AusTender. This stage of the procurement process establishes the foundation for the ongoing management and reporting of contracts.
At any time during the procurement process, Defence can determine that awarding a contract is not in the public interest. The Commonwealth Procurement Rules state that public interest grounds generally arise in response to unforeseen events or new information that materially affects the objectives or reasons underlying the original procurement requirement as specified in the request document.
The following guides to selling that have been developed by Department of Finance are available to help you understand the basics or answer any questions you may have on the contract awarding process: