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Procurement compliance and complaints

The Queensland Procurement Policy Compliance Unit (Compliance Unit) has been established to ensure a level playing field where government suppliers and agencies meet their commitments under the:

The Compliance Unit is made up of the Buy Queensland Audit team, the Compliance Coordination and Referral team and the Ethical Supply team. These teams work together to conduct audits and investigations, manage procurement complaints, review tenders and ensure that suppliers deliver genuine, quality and secure ongoing jobs with fair pay and safe working conditions.

The data collected from audits, investigations, and complaints, informs our guidance material and policy development so we can continuously improve compliance with the Queensland Procurement Policy to deliver on the Buy Queensland approach.

Compliance Coordination and Referral

The Compliance Coordination and Referral (CCR) team receive complaints relating to suppliers or agencies and the QPP. After receiving a complaint, we coordinate and refer the complaint to the relevant agency who then investigates the complaint.

While the role of the CCR team is not to advise agencies on how to manage a complaint, we do check and monitor the progress of the complaint. The outcomes are used to recommend policy or process improvement to benefit Queenslanders.

Recent enhancements to the CCR functions extend to reviewing a tender process when requested by the Chief Advisor - Procurement in consultation with procuring agency and referral management of non-conformances resulting from auditing functions conducted by Buy Queensland Audit team (BQAT).

Buy Queensland Audit Team

The function of the Buy Queensland Audit Team (BQAT) is to strengthen existing policies and initiatives through a program of Audit. Policies and initiatives are in place to provide guidance, and to further strengthen Queensland for Queenslanders.

The BQAT currently provides support on the following policies and initiatives:

  • Building and Construction Training Policy
  • Best Practice Principles
  • Food and Beverage Supplier Directory
  • Local Benefits Test.

Building and Construction Training Policy (the BCT Policy) aims to create employment opportunities for apprentices and trainees, including those who are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islanders.

Best Practice Principles provides guidelines for the highest possible standards of workplace health & safety, engaging in appropriate numbers of trainees and apprentices and best practice industrial relations on major state government projects.

The Food and Beverage Directory is the Queensland Government commitment to buy Queensland food and beverages for its events and corporate functions. The directory identifies caterers and suppliers of food and beverage products that support local business and jobs.

The purpose of the Local Benefits Test is to evaluate the benefits that any supplier would bring to the local area. The origin of the supplier is not relevant, rather what is important is the benefit the supplier can bring locally.

We may also investigate where we receive reports of non-compliance.

Our audit schedule is determined through risk assessments, focus areas, and random selection.

Ethical Supplier Mandate and Threshold

We manage the implementation and monitoring of the Ethical Supplier Mandate (Mandate) and Ethical Supplier Threshold (Threshold).

The mandate affects suppliers who repeatedly breach contractual obligations, policies or laws, unless their conduct is due to an honest mistake, oversight or accident. Demerits will be issued on a sliding scale for minor, moderate and major compliance issues.

Some examples of the threshold include suppliers who have:

  • not paid (or paid the incorrect amount of) superannuation contributions on behalf of their employees in accordance with the law
  • treated employees as independent contractors when they are not or asked that they provide an ABN so that they could be treated as an independent contractor
  • entered into a labour hire arrangement with a person who is not licenced or where a supplier is an unlicensed provider under the Act
  • paid employees below the applicable modern award
  • engaged persons on unpaid work trials or unpaid interns where they should be treated as employees
  • contravened civil remedy provisions of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) or the Industrial Relations Act 2016.

Make a complaint about a procurement process

Suppliers, find out how to make a procurement complaint.

Contact us

Procurement complaints

Buy Queensland audits and investigations

Ethical Supplier Mandate and Threshold

Last updated: 
29 November 2019