Publication of federal government procurement data

In January 2019, the Department of Finance updated the Australian government’s procurement and contracting portal, AusTender, to include the publication of data in the Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS).¹ A new programming interface also allowed other applications to interact with the database, making it easier for stakeholders to access and use the data.

The Department of Finance also completed a review in 2020 of due diligence processes in government procurement. However, for unknown reasons, this review has not been published, although a summary of the review was presented to the Open Government Partnership multi-stakeholder forum.² Because the review was not published, which is contrary to the original commitment, this commitment is considered only partially fulfilled. The Department of Finance told the multi-stakeholder forum that there is no “one size fits all” approach to due diligence across the Commonwealth and that different government entities approach due diligence in various ways, depending on the size, scope and risk of the procurement, and the type of goods or services being procured. It was also reported that some government entities have developed due diligence requirements. Further, it was reported to the multi-stakeholder forum that, based on findings from the review, the Department of Finance will develop due diligence guidance to assist officials in meeting their accountability and transparency obligations and help agencies achieve value for money in their procurements, and that the department will continue to encourage collaboration and discussion on due diligence in procurement between Commonwealth entities through various forums, such as outreach sessions with senior procurement officials across the Commonwealth and through Finance’s Community of Practice. It is not clear if or how these recommendations have been acted on.² Finally, government procurement rules, published in December 2020, do not cover due diligence.³