The Request for Tender

Consulting with colleagues, in-house expertise, users and subject matter specialists will make sure your Request is comprehensive.  Your Request should cover:  

• exactly what good and/or service is required 
• the required quantity and quality  
• timeframes 
• contract management requirements 
• contact details of the contractual and technical person  
• lodgement of submission instructions 

You can break your request down into sections. 

Introduction

What does your agency need? What’s the background of the requirement? Do you have any special conditions?  
Include any submission details, and contact person’s details. 

Selection process 

Sets out the process and policies which will apply to the procurement.  

Customer Contract and Head Agreement (if applicable)

Outline all the important information your agency needs.  This should include the term of the contract, price variation clauses and insurance requirements.
Head agreements are not needed when it is not a CUA or a panel arrangement/standing offer. 

Statement of Requirements

Briefly describe what goods/services your agency needs.  

Specification

Use a specification (see below) to provide a detailed description of the product/service.  

Response form

This form is where the supplier provides details of their offer, including responses to the evaluation criteria and price requirements.  

Appendices

Provides any extra useful information. 

Accurate specifications are critical to the development of the Request. To give you a starting point for writing your specifications it’s worth reviewing recent specifications for similar purchases that may have been made by your agency or researching similar purchases made by other agencies. 

The specification should: 

• be clear, concise, accurate, logical and avoid jargon  
• not duplicate contractual conditions found elsewhere in the Request 
• define terms, symbols and acronyms 
• promote competition by avoiding bias and brand names 
• consider sustainability issues and any specific risks that may be involved 
• include requirements such as warranty, maintenance, delivery or packaging, performance standards and performance measures.  
• include enough information to allow potential suppliers to assess whether they have the capability and capacity to meet the requirement  
• encourage and promote competition by avoiding commercial or brand-specific attributes. 
• identify mandatory requirements and those that are desirable.
• include contract management and administration requirements including supplier performance management requirements
• ensure that you consult with the contract manager during the development of these requirements.

Are there different types of specifications? 

There are three main types of specifications: 

• functional specifications: outline what outcomes your agency wants to achieve 
• performance-oriented specifications: define the performance but not the method to be used 
• technical specifications: detail the physical characteristics, such as size, capacity and type of materials required

Can the Department of Finance help me with my specification? 

Writing the specification for an open tender is your agency's responsibility.  

Getting the specifications right is valuable as it can reduce the cost of the tender process by standardising similar requirements and using the same specifications in the formal contract. 

If you need more help framing your specifications contact the relevant Department of Finance Government Procurement staff. 

Using appropriate, well-defined evaluation criteria enables potential suppliers to focus their submissions. It also assists the evaluation panel to assess the strengths and weaknesses of each potential supplier. 

There are a series of steps to check respondents’ suitability. They usually include some or all of the following: Pre-qualification requirements: are assessed on a yes/no basis.  A potential supplier must have the capability to deliver on every detail of every requirement. A supplier is not a suitable respondent if they respond ‘no’ to any question. 

Compliance requirements: assessment is also based on answering yes or no to the requirements.  Unlike pre-qualification requirements, the supplier may not need to fulfil every detail of every requirement. 

Qualitative requirements: have weightings and are scored using a rating scale.  

Pricing information is not point scored, but is used in the determination of value for money.  Social value should also be taken into account.   

The standardised Request template includes examples of commonly used selection criteria.