Finding tenders to bid on can be daunting when starting out. Whether you’re looking to sell to the government digitally, locally or nationally, we have done the research to make finding those tenders easier for you.
Public Sector Tenders
Competitive tenders and contracting (CTC) is used by federal, state and local governments in order to ensure revenue from taxes and rates are used in the most effective way. When done right, the tender process improves government accountability and ensures the broader community is getting the best value for money out of their taxes and rates.
Australian Federal Government Tenders
Firstly you have the Australian Government’s Procurement Information System, where you can find tenders across a broad range of categories; such as construction, environmental management, health services and everything in between. You can find these approaches to market (ATMs) at tenders.gov.au, which also provides useful information about panels, recently awarded contracts and information about standing arrangements with suppliers.
For the digital experts out there, the Australian Government Digital Marketplace is your go to for ICT tenders. Sellers can use the Digital Marketplace if they provide services and expertise in:
If you want to sell your digital products and service to the Government through the Digital Marketplace, you’ll need to Sign Up to be an approved seller. For more information on becoming a seller, check out their Seller Guide.
- agile delivery and governance
- change and transformation
- content and publishing
- cyber security
- data science
- digital sourcing and ICT procurement
- emerging technologies
- ICT risk management and audit activities
- ICT systems integration
- marketing, communications and engagement
- software engineering and development
- strategy and policy
- support and operations
- training, learning and development
- user research and design
State Government Tenders
For tenders released by individual state governments, please follow the links below. State governments release a wide variety of tenders, covering the areas of construction, ICT, utilities, fire department services, transport services and many more. Similar to Federal Government tenders, the State Government tender portals also provide information about awarded tenders and more.
Council Tenders (Local Government Tenders)
Council tenders are a little more tricky to find. Councils are often not obligated to advertise lower value tenders when contracting suppliers, but they will usually advertise the higher value contracts.
Sometimes councils put together a preferred supplier list, so instead of advertising a tender they will instead only open up bidding to their supplier list. If the councils in the area of your business have this option, it is advisable to apply to be on this list.
Preferred supplier lists aside, some tenders are still advertised for any business to bid on. The way these are advertised depends on the council- some only advertise on their website, some use portals such as Tenderlink, some will advertise in newspapers and through social media; most will do a combination of the above.
If a council advertises through a portal, you can generally follow the link from the council website to access a free sign-up option, which will enable you to receive notifications when new tenders come out and bid for applicable tenders.
Many councils also advertise tenders in the local newspaper, on their individual council website and on social media.
To find council tenders and discover where they are advertised, look up your local council and follow the links to their tender page (most have one).
There are far too many Australian council portals to list here, however watch this space as we will be creating a comprehensive database in the near future. If you’d like help finding or applying for council tenders, give us a call to discuss.
