Procurement Update - February 2016
Bitumen Reseal
With the 15/16 program completed well ahead of schedule, Council representatives are now preparing to enter the fourth year of this flagship collective arrangement and are turning their attention to 16/17, which for the first time will include post-reseal road line marking. Seven member Councils have so far confirmed their involvement in the arrangement this year making the 16/17 arrangement the largest so far. The tender documents are currently being finalised with plans to run a Tender Briefing this month to ensure all interested Contractors are given consistent information about the arrangement together with the chance to talk to participating Councils directly.
Asphalt Overlay
Building on the success of the annual reseal arrangement, a number of Councils are also keen to explore the development of a regional asphalt overlay program and early investigations are currently underway. This arrangement will require the development of appropriate tender documentation together with a consistent program of works for each Council and if it does go ahead will be delivered with the assistance of a Program Coordinator in the same way as the Bitumen Reseal.
Disposal & Beneficial Reuse of Biosolids
The first Biosolids Sub-Committee meeting took place at the end of January. This Committee has been formed to explore ways we can work collaboratively in the area of Biosolids disposal in order to achieve better outcomes for member Councils. This first meeting was a great opportunity for Council Officers to meet and share ideas with Terms of Reference and a proposed Timeline being established. I am pleased to confirm that with the support of Far North Queensland Water Regional Alliance Program (FNQWRAP) the biosolids project was recently awarded funding under their 2015-2018 Bid Pool Arrangements which supports regions in investigating and developing regional water and sewerage arrangements. We have started to engage the market in order to gain a deeper understanding of the opportunities and challenges in this area.
Scrap Metal & Used Lead Acid Batteries
As we quickly approach the end of the inaugural year of this arrangement we have been reflecting on the changing metal market and the impact on both supplier and Councils alike with the focus shifting from the current arrangement onto 16/17. We have been provided with some very useful insights into the current steel markets which have been in decline for some time but has recently slumped to levels not seen since 2003 and very briefly at the heart of the GFC in 2008.
Water Chemicals
These two contracts – Supply & Delivery of Sodium Hypochlorite and the Supply & Delivery of Liquid Alum were the very first regional procurement contracts formed by FNQROC Procurement back in 2012. With the current contracts shortly due to expire we have been busy seeking pricing for Councils to enable them to consider a final 12 month extension to the current contracts.
Queensland Government Procurement
We have been continuing our conversations with Queensland Government Procurement particularly regarding the Cabinet-endorsed recommendations in support of the Review of Queensland Government Procurement. This continuing dialogue ensures that regional views are voiced and we also have an eye on any impacts/opportunities the review will bring to our region. We also continue to explore State Government arrangements which could be appropriate for leveraging by local Councils.
Cairns Chamber of Commerce is coordinating the North Queensland Social Procurement Forum & Market Day on behalf of Queensland Government Procurement at the Cairns Convention Centre on 10 March 2016. It is a free event and you can register by clicking on link to the Cairns Chamber of Commerce website.
Department of Infrastructure, Local Government & Planning (DILGP)
LGAQ recently issued an LG Online alert regarding a review of the Local Government Contracting Provisions in Chapter 6 of the Local Government Regulation 2012. It stated that LGAQ, in collaboration with Local Buy will be making a submission to the review and requested Councils wishing to contribute send their input to Stephen Bohnen, Principle Advisor – Intergovernmental Relations.
You would be forgiven if you missed the alert as it seems many did and the date for submission has now been extended, with Local Buy now running a workshop in Brisbane to seek feedback on the 14 March 2016 just prior to the Local Buy conference. DILGP will also be in attendance.
I will be attending the workshop so if there are any particular issues you would like raised or questions asked please email me at
Local Buy
Training - FNQROC facilitated a Specification Writing training day held in Cairns which was delivered by ArcBlue on behalf of Local Buy. The day was well attended with representation from a number of our member Councils and the feedback has been really positive. Many thanks to Cairns Regional Council for hosting the training.
Local Buy Government Procurement & Fleet Conference – The conference will be taking place from 14th – 16th March 2016 at The Royal International Convention & Exhibition Centre in Brisbane. I will be going along and will report back on the key messages next month.
Procurement Seminar – Emma Peters, Regional Client Relations Officer and Telstra will be hosting a Local Buy Procurement Seminar at Cairns Regional Council on Wednesday 20 April 2016. They will be providing an overview of Local Buy, there will be presentations from their contracts managers together with an update from Telstra. Please register your interest with Emma Peters at if you would like to attend.
And finally, I thought I’d share this with you. No matter how bad your day is going, take heart that somewhere, someone else is having an even worse day. NO FNQROC roads were harmed in the making of this photo.
Date Claimers:
Procurement Technical Committee Meeting – Friday 4th March 2016
North Queensland Social Procurement & Market Day – Thursday 10th March 2016
16/17 Regional Bitumen Resealing – Pre-Contract Meeting No. 4 – Friday 11th March 2016
Government Procurement & Fleet Conference – Monday 14th March – Wednesday 16th March
Regional Removal & Beneficial Reuse of Biosolids Sub-Committee Meeting – Thursday 17th March
Local Buy Procurement Seminar – Wednesday 20th April 2016