Commercial Contract Management

  • Establishment of robust commercial and contract management practices across the Division and the University,
  • Ensuring robust and effective contract formation and management practices, and
  • Enhancing the protection against commercial risk and developing effective commercial relationships.

Purchase Orders

A Purchase Order is the University's official order form issued in order to procure goods and services on behalf of the University. Purchase Orders are issued only for items to be used by the University and cannot under any circumstances be used for staff or student personal requirements.

A Purchase Order is required for all purchases for goods and services over $5,000 in value and for smaller value orders when other means are not appropriate.

Contracts

Where a purchase requires the supplier to enter into a contract with the University, the Office of General Counsel must be advised of this fact and be involved in the preparation or review of the contract documentation prior to signing. Purchases under contract should also have a Purchase Order raised by the use of a Purchase and Service Requisition to account for the expenditure in the Oracle financial system.

NSW Government Contracts

University staff are to use NSW Government or other procurement consortium contracts where they exist for goods and services.  Suppliers on these types of contracts have been pre-approved meeting standards set down by the NSW Government Department of Services Technology and Administration or the establishing agency. A list of NSW Government contracts and guides for their use is available on the Buy NSW website (opens in a new window).

The contracts may have single or multiple suppliers and can be for specific products and costs or a more general panel supply arrangement where pricing has to be sought for specific products. Where a contract has a panel of multiple suppliers, University staff are encouraged to obtain quotes from these suppliers to determine the best value for money outcome. These contracts will generally provide good pricing but it is often possible to obtain competitive prices below those offered on Government contracts.

GIPA

NSW Government freedom of information legislation changed during 2010 with the introduction of the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 (GIPA). This legislation requires WSU to maintain and publish a register of contracts that have a value of $150,000 or more (incl GST).

A contract must be declared each each time the University:

  1. Enters into a contract or agreement valued at $150,000 (inc GST) or more; and/or
  2. Varies an existing contract in a way that means the contract value is now $150,000 (inc GST) or more.

Refer to the GIPA knowledge Article (opens in a new window) for further details.

Contract Types

GIPA identifies three classes of contract which are in part defined as:

  • Class 1 – Contracts which have or are likely to have a value of at least $150K and where there has been a tender process (RFQ, RFP, RFT) but terms and conditions of the contract have not been substantially negotiated with the successful tenderer.
  • Class 2 – Class 1 contracts up to $5M and where any one of the following apply:
    • there has not been a tender process (appointed via direct negotiation, sole supply, sole supplier); or
    • where there has been a tender process (RFQ, RFP, RFT) and the terms and conditions of the contract have been substantially negotiated with the successful tenderer; or
    • obligations include maintaining or operating infrastructure or assets could continue for 10 years or more; or
    • it involves a privately finance project; or
    • it involves a transfer of a significant asset of the University to another party to the contract in exchange for the transfer of an asset to the University.
  • Class 3 – A Class 2 contract with a value equal to, or greater than $5M.

Each of the contract classes has a different level of data disclosure required.

The Western Sydney University register of contracts can be located on the University Contract Reporting Page.

Data Collection

To ensure compliance, an executed copy of all contracts must be included in the University's Register of Contracts.

If your contract is missing from the University's Register of Contracts, you must complete the GIPA Contract Declaration Form and provide copies of the original contract, as well as any accompanying variation documents (if applicable).

This form must be submitted within 45 business days of the agreement or variation, and is only needed if you have not raised a WesternNow case with the Procurement team.

If you have any queries, or for more information, please contact the team on: