Tenders

Open tenders are advertised on the SA Tenders and Contracts website. Registration is required to download documents.

Visit the SA Tenders and Contracts website

Ready To Tender is designed to help SA businesses navigate the Government procurement process.

Visit the Ready to Tender website

For a full list of tenders currently advertised by the City of Onkaparinga please click on the link below.

View current tenders

Potential tenderers and suppliers are encouraged to regularly check the SA Tenders and Contracts website for opportunities to supply goods and services to Local Government.

Other procurement platforms

Industry Capability Network (ICN) gateway provides a portal for project owners to promote their projects and suppliers to find work and promote their capabilities.

Office of the Industry Advocate Products + Services Register is an online directory where all South Australian Businesses can profile their business at no cost and are promoted to State Government Agencies and Prime Contractors.

 

Advice on submitting tender responses

Tender requirements

  • Open Tenders are advertised publicly on SA Tenders and Contracts website.
  • Carefully read all documentation provided to ensure you understand requirements.
  • Check that you can comply with conditions of tendering, selection criteria, scope, specifications and conditions of contract.
  • Note the tender closing dates and timeframes.
  • Seek further information from the nominated contact officer if required.

Tender period

  • All tenders will remain open for a minimum of 14 days.
  • Some tenders may include an invitation to attend a site visit or information session which will be advertised as part of the tender documentation.
  • Addenda may be issued by the City of Onkaparinga to answer questions raised by tenderers or to clarify specific aspects of the tender.
  • Addenda will be published on the SA Tenders and Contracts website.
  • Tenderers who have downloaded previous documents will receive electronic notification of any published addenda or amendments to the tender.

Preparing your response

  • Clearly demonstrate your ability to meet the evaluation criteria.
  • Make sure all requirements relating to the question have been addressed.
  • Provide your best response, do not assume negotiation will occur.
  • Use the templates and forms where provided.
  • Provide evidence of relevant experience.
  • Ensure referees are current and aware they have been nominated.
  • If you are not sure how to respond, please seek advice from the nominated contact officer.

Lodging your response

  • Tender responses must be submitted electronically via SA Tenders and Contracts website.
  • Late submissions will not be accepted.
  • Do not include unnecessarily large or non-standard file formats.
  • Allow enough time to upload files prior to tender closing time.
  • You will receive an email receipt from SA Tenders and Contracts when each file upload is successfully completed.
  • If you need technical assistance, please contact SA Tenders and Contracts Helpdesk on (08) 8462 1401.

Tender evaluation

  • Tender submissions will be assessed by a tender evaluation panel in alignment with an authorised tender evaluation plan.
  • The tender evaluation panel will review all submissions against mandatory and weighted criteria.
  • The tender evaluation process may include multiple stages including shortlisting, negotiation and commercial alignment.

Notifying tenderers

  • Unsuccessful tenderers will be notified at the earliest opportunity via email.
  • Preferred tenderers may be notified of their status prior to contract award however this does not represent any binding agreement between parties.
  • Tenderers are encouraged to seek feedback from the nominated contact person if requesting advice as to why their tender was either successful or unsuccessful.

Contract award

  • Following the identification of a preferred tenderer a contract will be drafted between the City of Onkaparinga and the tenderer.
  • Simple contracts may be executed by issue of a purchase order.
  • Ongoing service or capital works contracts will usually be based on the City of Onkaparinga’s standard contractual agreement/s and may include additional legal clauses from external advisors.

Hints and tips

  • Experience and Resources – in 80 per cent of cases the tenderer does not communicate adequately their experience and resources to deliver the task, failing to give the tender panel confidence in their capability to actually deliver on time and budget. Experience in similar projects and demonstrated resources to deliver are vital to score well in tender assessments. Council requires specific details under this criteria, not just basic details.
  • Appreciation of Task – in 60 per cent of cases the tenderer fails to adopt and confirm general methodology demonstrating an appreciation of the task and/or completion of the whole works. Council projects in general have been established and designed via extensive community consultation and experts inputs, and in some instances neighbouring landowner consents, so in many cases the task is of importance to the community and environmental or specialised conditions must be adhered to by tenderers.
  • Timeframe – in 50 per cent of cases the tenderer does not adequately confirm the project or goods can be delivered as per the timeline scheduled in the tender documents. Most major procurements with council are open to public scrutiny, so tenders should demonstrate by providing a detailed project plan of the timeline breakdown, including estimated milestone dates. Providing timelines beyond project parameters rarely is accepted as projects are often funded by state or federal government grants and seasonal conditions that generally tighten the window of opportunity. In many cases being innovative and demonstrating a shortened timeline within realistic parameters can be quite an advantage in the assessment scoring, as this minimises disruption to our communities.
  • Local Business Support – in 50 per cent of cases the tenderer does not demonstrate the use of local businesses and/or local job opportunities within the project supply chain. Federal and State governments are increasingly stipulating Local Participation Plans on major projects, and local procurement is a priority of council (in City of Onkaparinga local businesses get a 10 per cent weighted criteria scoring benefit). For tenderers based outside of Onkaparinga, demonstrated use of local suppliers for goods and services is desired.
  • Special conditions - In some tenders emerging project requirements can be specified such as circular economy use of recycled products, sustainable whole of life costs, and sometimes Indigenous economic outcomes.
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