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Advice on submitting tenders

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The tender process

The Redland City Council’s tender process usually involves various steps. See below for information about each step.

Download the Preparing tender documentation guide [PDF 0.3MB], which includes a checklist to ensure you include everything.

Council uses a variety of methods to procure goods, services or works needed. This may include the following:

Request for quotation When contract does not exist, we approach suppliers on existing arrangements (contract).
Request for tender

When the intended expenditure is more than $220,000 (including GST), Council must invite public tenders if no exception exists under the Local Government Regulation 2012.
Expressions of interest Council may invite expressions of interest before inviting tenders when this will save Council and suppliers time and resources in responding to a full tender.Once this process is completed, Council may invite a shortlist of respondents to tender on the proposal.  This does not need to be advertised.
LGA arrangement, or an arrangement with or under a government arrangement Council may enter into a contract for goods and services without first inviting written quotes or tenders if the contract is with a supplier from an arrangement established by:
  • the Local Government Association of Queensland (LGAQ) / Local Buy Pty Ltd
  • another  federal, state or local government agency.
Register of pre-qualified suppliers or approved contractors lists Council may compile a register of pre-qualified suppliers or approved contractor list by inviting expressions of interest or public tenders. Once compiled, further quotes from members may be required. A pre-qualified supplier has the technical, financial and managerial capabilities to perform contracts on time and in line with requirements.  A register of pre-qualified suppliers can be established only if:
  • the preparation and evaluation of invitations each time the goods or services are needed would be costly
  • the supplier’s capability or financial capacity is critical
  • the supply of goods and services involves significant security considerations
  • a precondition of an offer to contract is compliance with particular conditions or standards set by Council
  • the ability of local business needs to be discovered or developed.
Preferred supplier arrangements Council may establish a preferred supplier arrangement when works, goods or services are needed in large volumes or frequently.  Once established, further quotes from members may be required.
Sole supplier, specialised or confidential arrangement Council may enter into a contract without first inviting quotes or tenders if either:
  • only one supplier is reasonably available
  • the goods or service required are specialised or confidential.
A genuine emergency Council may enter into a medium-sized or large contract without first inviting quotes or tenders where a genuine emergency exists.

Council prepares an invitation to tender that usually contains:

  • notice to tenders - a brief background to the tendering processes and objectives of the tender
  • conditions of tender - the rules for Council's tender process
  • specifications - the requirements that goods, services or works must meet.  
  • conditions of contract - the terms on which Council will do business, including rights and obligations of each party
  • tender deliverable attachments - information from suppliers for Council evaluation
  • any other application documentation - further information context/background to Council's requirements.

Tenders and expressions of interest are open to the market for at least 21 days. Currently, they are advertised via one or more of the following media:

  • Council website
  • VendorPanel Public Tenders
  • QTenders
  • Redland City Bulletin
  • The Courier-Mail
  • other media and journals applicable to the scope of work.

Council may hold supplier briefings if it believes these briefings would lead to a successful procurement. Details of any supplier briefings, including whether attendance is mandatory or optional, are included in the tender documentation. 

The supplier briefing informs potential suppliers of the specifications, site conditions, conditions of tendering and conditions of contracts.

Suppliers are able to ask questions at these briefings, which are documented with the responses as an addendum to the tender.

Before responding, all suppliers should:

  • read all documentation provided
  • attend any pre-tender briefing sessions/site inspections being held
  • lodge any questions in accordance with the conditions of tender
  • plan and prepare their response
  • submit their response in the right format and before the closing time.

Read more about preparing tender documentation [PDF 0.3MB].

If there has been a change in the tender specification, Council may invite all who submitted a tender to change their tender to account for the change before it makes a decision on those tenders.

Evaluation criteria

The Council’s evaluation criteria is outlined in the tender documentation and generally includes:

  • mandatory criteria—tenderers must meet mandatory criteria to move to the next stage of the evaluation process
  • financial criteria—the weighting of this deliverable depends on the process  type
  • non-financial criteria—weightings are allocated to specific aspects of the project. The percentage allocated to the weighting indicates the importance of the activity
  • local content criteria—weightings are allocated to suppliers located in the Redlands area, employing local staff and using the services of local business if they can demonstrate competitive rates and service qualities.

Further information and post-tender negotiations

During the evaluation stage, Council may request clarification. If requested, the supplier must submit the required information by the due date and time. If they fail to do so, their tender may be deemed ‘non-conforming’ and will not be evaluated further.

Council may also enter into post-tender negotiations (i.e. negotiate with suppliers after the close of tenders) when it has expressly reserved this right in the tender conditions. All suppliers who proceed to this stage are invited to enter into negotiations.

The commencement of negotiations with one or more suppliers does not indicate that a supplier's response has been unsuccessful or successful.

Council handles all negotiations with the utmost integrity and maintains equal opportunity for all suppliers throughout the negotiations.

Responsibilities of evaluation panel

The evaluation panel:

  • establishes suppliers’ technical and commercial compliance
  • identifies bids not meeting mandatory requirements
  • establishes total or life cycle costs
  • confirms the capability or capacity of product and supplier to perform
  • assesses the technical suitability of each offer
  • assesses commercial cost benefits of each offer
  • determines company costs of the offers received
  • determines the best value for money
  • documents the reasons for not accepting the best conforming offer
  • assesses risks arising from the evaluation process.

Once Council has received approval to award the contract, the successful supplier is notified. 

The successful supplier receives formal notification via either a letter of acceptance, formal instrument of agreement and/or a purchase order with a contract reference number. They must receive formal notification before carrying out any works, goods and/or services. 

After receiving this and returning any requested additional information to the approval of Council, the supplier can deliver the goods and/or services to Council.

Note: An order or a letter is not required when Council's corporate credit card is used.

Council monitors the supplier’s performance at regular review meetings held throughout the contract period.

Tender debriefs are conducted with all unsuccessful tenderers upon request. This feedback helps suppliers submit future tender submissions and is not a comparison with another tenderer's submission.

Council does not give any tenderer information about another tenderer’s submission unless required by law.

How to find tenders

When Council needs to acquire goods and services, it will request tenders or expressions of interest.

When the intended expenditure is more than $220,000 (including GST), Council must invite public tenders (unless there is an exception under law).

Tenders and expressions of interest are open to the market for at least 21 days.

Finding current tenders

We advertise open tenders in one or more of the following  locations:

  • Council’s current tenders page
  • VendorPanel Market Place
  • QTenders
  • Redland City Bulletin 
  • The Courier-Mail
  • other applicable media/journals.

You will also find upcoming tender opportunities on the website.

We encourage you to register as a supplier on the:

Set an alert to receive notifications of opportunities that may interest you.

You can also register for tender notifications with surrounding councils, and state and federal government, as we can utilise arrangements established by these entities.

Finding awarded tenders

You’ll find details of awarded contracts valued at over $200,000 on Council's website.

How to submit a tender

To learn how the tender process works:

Further queries

If you have queries about opportunities at Redland City Council, contact Council's Procurement Services Unit at procurementtenders@redland.qld.gov.au

Note: Contacting councillors or other officers about a tender is forbidden and will result in your tender being excluded.

How Council chooses suppliers

Legal requirements

The Redland City Council reviews and accepts tender offers in line with its Corporate Procurement Policy [PDF 0.2MB].

Council must consider the five sound contracting principals set out in Section 104(3) of the Local Government Act 2009:

  • value for money
  • open and effective competition
  • the development of competitive local business and industry environmental protection
  • environmental protection
  • ethical behaviour and fair dealing.

Council conducts procurement impartially, fairly, independently, and with openness and integrity, to ensure probity and accountability in its processes and outcomes.

Preference for local suppliers

As per the sound contracting principles, Council's procurement framework supports competitive local and indigenous business through the application of evaluation methodology that considers and gives weighting to local benefits including (not exhaustive):

  • Business Location - The number of business offices or sites located in the Redlands area
  • Jobs - The number of local jobs supported by the procurement activity
  • Supply chain - The number or amount of use of local suppliers, manufacturers and supply chain directly relating to the supply or manufacture of goods and/or services
  • Education & Training  - The number of local apprenticeships and traineeships supported by the procurement activity
  • First Nations People jobs - The number of local First Nations People jobs supported by the procurement activity
  • Socio-economic - The interest, engagement and support of local community and sporting groups and activities

Ethics and privacy: your obligations

Council aims to achieve the highest standards of integrity and accountability when doing business, working with the community and delivering services—in line with Local Government Act 2009, our procurement policy and our code of conduct.

Similarly, business clients, suppliers and service providers have ethical and privacy obligations when offering services to government.

Information privacy

If a contractor or its subcontractors have access to or responsibility for holding personal information, they must:

  • comply with parts 1 and 3 of chapter 2 of the Information Privacy Act 2009 as if the contractor were the ‘principal’ (in this case, Council)
  • ensure that the personal information is protected against loss, unauthorised access, use, modification or disclosure, and against other misuse
  • ensure that personnel do not access, use or disclose the personal information other than in the performance of their duties
  • immediately notify Council if they become aware that a disclosure of personal information is, or may be, required or authorised by law
  • fully cooperate with Council to enable them to respond to
    • applications for access to, or amendment of, a document containing an individual’s personal information
    • privacy complaints
  • comply with any other privacy and security requirements as Council requires
  • not use the personal Information other than for the contract’s purpose unless required or authorised by law
  • not disclose the personal information without the written agreement of Council, unless required or authorised by law
  • not transfer the personal information outside Australia without Council consent.

If Council is not reasonably satisfied that the contractor has practices in place to observe and maintain the privacy and disclosure of information requirements for personal information, it may require the the contractor to make its subcontractors aware of their obligations, including having them sign a privacy undertaking in a form approved by Council.

Business ethics

Your obligations

As a supplier to the Council, you're expected to: 

  • not pressure Council officers to overlook ethical obligations
  • avoid collusion and unfair practices
  • disclose likely conflicts of interest
  • maintain confidentiality of information that must remain confidential
  • provide accurate information
  • help deter unethical practices and fraud by promptly reporting your concerns
  • respect your ethical obligations.

Benefits and gifts

In line with Council policy, as a general rule, officers must refuse benefits, gifts, hospitality, travel or accommodation.

Responsible reporting

Unethical conduct or fraud is not acceptable. If you become aware of any issues, report them to the Chief Executive Officer via:

More information

Read our Council privacy statement.

Read our Fraud and Corruption Prevention Policy (PDF, 80KB).

Visit the Office of the Information Commisioner Qld Privacy Legislation in Queensland website.

Visit the Department of State Development, Infrastructure, Local Government and Planning Fraud Management in Local Government website.

Information briefings for suppliers

Council regularly conducts information briefings for organisations wanting to supply goods or services to Council. These are held throughout the Redland City area.

The sessions can give you important information on:

  • how to maximise your chance of being awarded work
  • hints and tips for submitting your tender or quotation response
  • how Council procures goods and services
  • Council’s procurement framework, including its ‘buy local’ policy.

We advertise the briefings in various locations, including:

If you can’t make it to a session, you can view the slide presentation about doing business with Redland City Council [PDF 1.2MB].