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ARTICLE · 30 MARCH 2026

The Impor­tance Of A Request For Tender

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An RFT is your oppor­tu­ni­ty to man­age your project risk and to ensure your project is com­plet­ed on time and with­in bud­get. Your RFT defines the rules of the game...

AustraliaCorporate/Commercial Law
Lynn Hawes
Lynn Hawes
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Issu­ing a request for ten­der (RFT) is more than just secur­ing the best or low­est price.

An RFT is your oppor­tu­ni­ty to man­age your project risk and to ensure your project is com­plet­ed on time and with­in bud­get. Your RFT defines the rules of the game (ten­der process) and the final des­ti­na­tion (the con­tract to be entered into).

If your RFT if not cor­rect­ly word­ed, your RFT might inad­ver­tent­ly cre­ate a process con­tract which you are bound to fol­low1. Ensure you include a dis­claimer clear­ly stat­ing no legal rela­tion­ship is formed until a for­mal con­tract is signed and the RFT is an invi­ta­tion only.

A poor­ly pre­pared RFT may lead a dis­grun­tled unsuc­cess­ful ten­der­er to argue you failed to fol­low your own rules, might result in mis­lead­ing con­duct claims, and can lead to pro­tract­ed con­tract negotiations.

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