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Buy Queensland Buyer Awards

In the Queensland Public Service, procurement and contract management staff have great responsibility in planning how to spend public money to solve business needs while ensuring best value for money.

The Buy Queensland Buyer Awards is a way of acknowledging this contribution, by recognising those who have demonstrated excellence in procurement and the delivery of beneficial outcomes for Queenslanders.

2023 is the second year of recognising procurement excellence at the Buy Queensland Buyer Awards.

Nominations for the 2023 Buy Queensland Buyer Awards are now closed.

Thank you for your interest in the 2023 Buy Queensland Buyer Awards.  Please stay tuned to see this year’s finalists and winners!

Nominations were open in the following categories:

  • Category 1: Excellence in delivering on the objectives of the Queensland Procurement Policy:
    • Category 1a: Excellence in procurement – Small team or individual
    • Category 1b: Excellence in procurement – Large team
    • Category 1c: Excellence in procurement – Best new entrant
    • Category 1d: Excellence in procurement – Leadership
  • Category 2: Innovation in Procurement
  • Category 3: Queensland Government Procurement Deputy Director-General’s Award

If you have any questions about the awards, please email the Queensland Government Procurement team at skills2procure@epw.qld.gov.au.

2022 Buy Queensland Buyer Awards

The winners of the first Buy Queensland Buyer Awards were announced on 14 June 2022 at a ceremony held at the State Library of Queensland.

There were 6 highly commended award recipients and 7 winners selected across 4 award categories. Read about two projects delivered by 2022 winners:

Excellence in Procurement Award – Small team

The Maritime Safety Queensland (MSQ) Brisbane Flood Recovery team’s quick, skilled emergency procurement response during the February 2022 floods saw them the winner of this category.

Due to the floods, the Port of Brisbane and the Brisbane River were closed to commercial and recreational activities, significantly impacting the maritime industry and the community.

As part of the MSQ Brisbane Incident Management Team, the MSQ procurement team worked within the Emergency Procurement provisions, Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements and Australasian Inter-service Incident Management System structure.

Operating under Transport and Main Road’s procurement model, the team worked with contract managers to engage services for removal of debris, hydrographic surveys, additional dredging, clearance diving, wreck removal and navigation replacements in the river.

Using their skillsets and local knowledge, the team quickly engaged 20 commercial contractors with a $6M spend. Their Requests for Quotes contained specific deliverables, while checks on suppliers’ Certificates of Currency Insurances reduced potential for additional financial liability to the department.

Over six weeks, the team’s procurement efforts resulted in:

  • removal of 6700 tonnes of debris and potential pollution
  • retrieval of 60 vessels and 40 pontoons
  • the timely re-opening of the Port of Brisbane to international trade, benefiting Queensland’s economy
  • re-opening of the river allowing normal recreational activities to resume—a key psychological marker for the community.

Deputy Director-General’s Award for Procurement Excellence

A commitment to supporting local and small to medium enterprises has seen Department of Resources Project Manager, Andrew Friend and Procurement Officer, Jose Puttanani announced as winners of the Deputy Director–General’s Award for Procurement Excellence.

Andrew and Jose are involved in the Management Public Health, Safety and Environmental Risks associated with Baal Gammon and Collingwood Tin Abandoned Mines Far North Queensland project and the Abandoned Mine Lands Program.

Their work, underpinned by the Queensland Procurement Policy objectives, displays excellence in procurement and contract management.

Andrew and Jose worked collaboratively to optimise participation of local and small and medium enterprises in the abandoned mine programs, supporting the long-term wellbeing of the community.

Through delivery of this project, they:

  • empowered suppliers to tender for work
  • implemented strong governance and planning approaches, including consultation with internal and external stakeholders to maintain confidence in procurement management
  • utilised collaborative strategies for procurement and contract management
  • encouraged staff to consider the pros and cons of unbundling and investing effort into contract managing work with small to medium enterprises and local suppliers.

Andrew and Jose’s flexible, innovative procurement approaches and best practice governance have resulted in:

  • project sites achieving good value for money and outcomes
  • high levels of local supplier content
  • small and medium enterprise spend
  • Indigenous owned corporation spend
  • team procurement training, discussions, and shares
  • voluntary external team audits.

Stay informed

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  • Buy Queensland Supplier Awards
  • Buy Queensland roadshow and events
  • Government procurement news and information
  • Buy Queensland events.
Last updated: 
28 March 2023