Commonwealth agencies which run procurements subject to the
Commonwealth Procurement Rules (CPRs) will need to
understand the impact of the
Government Procurement (Judicial Review) Bill, introduced into
Parliament yesterday, on their upcoming procurements. The Bill:
- creates new rules for investigating and handling
complaints;
- allows complainants to seek compensation from the courts;
and
- allows complainants to seek an injunction from the court
for breaches of Commonwealth procurement rules relating to
covered procurements.
They will also need to review their procedures and procurement
materials now.
Unless the Commonwealth entity that is the subject of a
complaint has issued what is described as a "public interest
certificate" under the Bill before the complaint was made,
that complaint will have the effect of suspending the procurement
process while that complaint is dealt with - which could add
significant delay to procurement timeframes.
