Advertising your community services Request

You can also use Tenders WA to advertise early notices of tenders (e.g. early tender advice or draft requests for comment). 

You should make the Request information available for potential service providers to download from Tenders WA. If you would like potential service providers to be able to request hard copies of the Request document, state this option in the Request. If your Request is for a regional area, you may like to make the Request document available from the regional office. 

​When setting the timeframe consider the value, complexity or strategic nature of the Request. As a guide, a common period is four weeks, with two weeks considered the minimum. You may wish to consider a longer advertising period depending on the complexity of the services required. 

Advertise the Request on Tenders WA. The Request document should be attached so potential service providers can download it.  

You can hold a briefing for potential suppliers to provide them with an overview of the Request and what you are seeking. The briefing also gives potential service providers the opportunity to clarify issues before the Request closes. 

If attendance at the briefing session is mandatory, you need to clearly state this as a mandatory, or pre-qualification, requirement. The name of the legal entity that service providers record in the attendance register must match the name of the entity on their offer. If a potential respondent does not attend a mandatory briefing, they will not be able to submit a response and will be excluded from the process. 

When you hold a briefing, you should consider how you can accommodate potential respondents in regional and remote areas. 

A Community Services Guidelines to Conducting Briefings is available at Community services procurement resources. 

You need to record all enquiries from potential respondents. Where the enquiry requires a change to the Request, issue an addendum to potential respondents on Tenders WA. If potential respondents seek clarification, you need to manage the process so that one potential respondent doesn’t gain an unfair advantage. You can find more information about your role as the contact person in the Contact Person Guide at Community services procurement resources. 

​Offers must be held in a secure location. During the opening process we recommend that at least two officers should be present. Offers must be kept secure and confidential, so any procedures for receiving, opening and registering offers must maintain this. You should be mindful of probity issues associated with late offers.  

Retain all relevant documentation and information, particularly the offers themselves, securely on file and keep them confidential, both for audit purposes and to protect the interests of service providers. It is worth remembering at this point the legislation relating to record management practices, including the Financial Management Act 2006, Freedom of Information Act 1992 and the State Records Act 2000.