We are jointly conducting an Approach to Market with the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. This is to establish a panel of regional delivery partners to provide environmental protection, sustainable agriculture and natural resource management services to 52 regional areas across Australia, known as management units.
Regional delivery partners will be engaged to deliver regional capacity services under a deed of standing offer. They may also be engaged to deliver project design services and project services under future work orders.
By being part of the panel, regional delivery partners may have the opportunity to deliver projects for a range of programs across both departments. The projects will be decided separately to this Approach to Market, following establishment of the panel. Regional delivery partners may potentially also be requested to deliver projects for other Australian Government entities.
You can watch a pre-recorded industry briefing for the Approach to Market or read the transcript.
Industry Briefing video transcript (DOCX 38.1 KB)
Approach to Market
ATM ID: 22-23 BCD 01
ATM Title: Approach to Market in relation to the Establishment of a Panel of Regional Delivery Partners for Environmental Protection, Sustainable Agriculture and Natural Resource Management Services
You can find the Approach to Market documents on AusTender, using the reference number 22-23 BCD 01.
You can also find additional information on the 3 environment outcomes described in the Approach to Market documents.
Submission details are available through AusTender.
Working with First Nations people
Working in partnership with First Nations peoples is central and key to achieve improved on-ground outcomes for the environment. Regional delivery partners will be required to identify opportunities for First Nations peoples participation in the delivery of project services, including identifying and encouraging First Nations peoples led project services.
The Indigenous Procurement Policy Mandatory Set-Aside arrangements will apply for project services (including project design services) that satisfy the geographical or dollar value threshold requirements in the Indigenous Procurement Policy.
Key Dates
With the exception of the dates in items 2, 3 and 4 in the table below, the following dates are indicative and may be amended without notice to tenderers. Any changes to dates in items 2, 3 or 4 in the table below will be notified to potential tenderers through AusTender.
| Item No. | Activity | Indicative Date |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Release of ATM | Thursday, 15 December 2022 |
| 2. | Pre-Recorded Industry Briefing | With the release of ATM |
| 3. | Deadline for Submission of Tenderers' Questions | 4:00 pm local time in the Australian Capital Territory on Tuesday 28 February 2023 |
| 4. | Closing Time | 2:00 pm local time in the Australian Capital Territory on Tuesday 7 March 2023 |
| 5. | Evaluation | March – April 2023 |
| 6. | Negotiations | July 2023 |
| 7. | Entry into Deeds of Standing Offer | Commencing from August 2023 onwards |
| 8. | Initial Round of Project Co‑Design | Commencing from October 2023 |
| 9. | Commencement of Regional Capacity Services | August 2023 onwards |
Status update
The evaluation for the Panel of Regional Delivery Partners is subject to the Commonwealth Procurement Rules and as competition is a key element of the Australian Government’s procurement framework, this requires non-discrimination and the use of competitive procurement processes. Tenderers should be aware the evaluation process is underway and all questions regarding this Approach to Market are to be directed, in writing, to the contact officer at regionalnrmtender@dcceew.gov.au. The outcome of the tender will be announced on AusTender.
Documents
The Approach to Market documents consist of the terms and conditions, and 5 schedules:
- Schedule 1 – Statement of Requirement
- Schedule 2 – Tender Response Form
- Schedule 3 – Draft Deed of Standing Offer
- Schedule 4 – Glossary
- Schedule 5 – Guidance on Statement of Tax Records
All documents are available through AusTender, using the reference number 22-23 BCD 01.
Lodgement of Tenders
Tenders must be lodged electronically via AusTender before 2:00 pm local time in the Australian Capital Territory on Tuesday, 7 March 2023.
Tenderers should familiarise themselves with all components of the Approach to Market documentation and ensure their tenders comply with all requirements.
Questions, Addenda and Contact Details
All questions regarding this Approach to Market are to be directed, in writing, to the contact officer at regionalnrmtender@dcceew.gov.au. You can submit questions before 4:00 pm, local time in the Australian Capital Territory, on Tuesday, 28 February 2023. This is the sole contact point for this Approach to Market.
Tenderers should be aware we may circulate any questions submitted by tenderers, and responses, to all other tenderers in accordance with the Approach to Market terms and conditions. Tenderers should, therefore, identify in the questions they submit what, if any, information in the question is confidential.
Addenda may be issued to this Approach to Market. This may include variations to the Approach to Market documentation or additional information in relation to the Approach to Market. Any addenda issued prior to the closing time will be posted on AusTender.
If you need to update your contact details on AusTender, please ensure you amend your details and download this Approach to Market again from AusTender. This will ensure an up-to-date registration on AusTender. Once registered, AusTender will notify tenderers by email of the issue of any addenda issued prior to the closing time. It is then the responsibility of the tenderer to log on to AusTender and collect the addenda.
It is important to note that any approach—whether it be direct or indirect—must not be made to officers, employees, contractors or agents of the departments, other than the contact officer, about this Approach to Market.
Tenderers that are already contracted to the departments should not make enquiries about this Approach to Market during any ‘business as usual’ interactions with personnel from the departments.
For any technical or operational support questions in relation to AusTender, the AusTender Help Desk is available between 9 am and 5 pm Australian Capital Territory local time, Monday to Friday (excluding Australian Capital Territory and national public holidays). The AusTender Help Desk can be contacted by email on tenders@finance.gov.au or 1300 651 698 (International: +61 2 6215 1558).
Tenderers should note that AusTender and the departments will be closed between 23 December 2022 and 3 January 2023. During this time, there will be no technical support from AusTender and the departments will not be able to respond to any questions.
Tenderers should also be aware that the Australian Taxation Office and their systems will close for maintenance from 23 December 2022 to 3 January 2023. Statement of Tax Records requests lodged between 24 December 2022 to 3 January 2023 will not be processed.