Tender Opening and Receipt Guidelines

Tender Opening and Receipt Guidelines

1. Code of practice

Everyone involved in distributing, receiving, and opening tenders must be aware of and adhere to the NSW Government Code of Practice for Procurement . They must sign and be bound by an appropriate confidentiality undertaking and declaration regarding conflict of interest.

All tendered information must be kept confidential and only disclosed to:



Officers directly involved in the handling or evaluation of tenders;



Management involved in approving the contract award;



Consultants or advisers engaged to assist in the evaluation of tenders and/or other parts of the tender process;



Client representatives who have an involvement in the tender evaluation and/or other parts of the tender process; or



Other parties who have an authorised role in the tender process.

2. Tender closing offices and tender receiving offices

A Tender Receiving Office (TRO) is an office not nominated as the Tender Closing Office

(TCO) for the RFT, but nominated as providing alternative tender boxes for tender lodgement. TCO and TRO normally have regular, defined and notified tender closing times.

3. Method of receiving tenders

Tenders should normally be issued and received by the NSW Government eTendering

System . Where more than one tender is sought (regardless of the anticipated price or proposed process) the tenders must be lodged by the nominated tender closing time and date, either:

 Into the NSW Government’s eTendering System where allowed in the RFT documents;



Into a physical tender box located at the (TCO) or a (TRO), as specified in the RFT documents;

Where a single invited tender is requested in writing the tender should be either lodged in a tender box or received by another secure method by the officer responsible for the RFT.

When approval has been given to seek single invited tenders they may not close in a tender

Department of Education

Procurement Manual

Tender Opening and Receipt Guidelines – DOC12/444984

Version 1.3, 27 July 2015

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box, however, where it is specified in the RFT documents or otherwise that they are to close in a tender box, these guidelines regarding receipt apply.

If the tender is not lodged by the specified closing time and date, it is classified as late and should be handled in the way described in the Section Handling Late Tenders below.

A tender is not considered as received until it is recorded or verified as received in the NSW

Government eTendering System, or into a tender box, or directly by a TCO or by officers of a (TCO) or (TRO).

Receiving tenders through NSW Government eTendering system

When tenders are submitted electronically over the internet into the eTendering System, an on-screen message is displayed showing that the transmission has been received, and then once fully received (that is encryption and secure storage) an e-mail receipt is sent by the eTendering System to the tender lodger’s system e-mail address showing the date and time the tender was completely received. The System records date and time of complete receipt, and other information that assists the tenderer to assess whether successful lodgement has occurred. The e-mail is the evidence of receipt.

Tenders that are lodged into the eTendering System are retained in a secure location in the

System that is allocated for the secure access-controlled storage of tenders for each specific

RFT after lodgement, full receipt and encryption.

To reduce the likelihood of viruses, conditions of tendering will normally require tenderers not to include any macros, aplets, or executable code or files in tenders. Conditions of tendering also normally encourage tenderers to ensure that electronically submitted files are free from viruses by checking the files with an up to date virus-checking program before submission. This however does not guarantee that viruses will be avoided. Officers handling tenders should also take care with the receipt of electronic files to ensure that they are checked for viruses as soon as possible before distribution.

The eTendering system:



closes tenders at the specified date and time, while continuing to receive transmissions in progress until completed, and other transmission for any ‘late receipt’ period set in the System by the agency for the RFT;



records the time late tenders are received;



opens, identifies and downloads tenders; and



reports on the process.


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If a tender is received by electronic communication other than through the eTendering

System, such as by e-mail/electronic messaging, the officer receiving the tender should immediately on discovery forward the e-mail and/or any electronic files or information involved to the TOC Secretary at the applicable Tender Closing Office with a covering message recording:



RFT name and number;



location of the receiving officer; and



date and time the tender was first discovered with a description of the circumstances of receipt, including any receipt time noted in the transmission records (such as the properties of the incoming e-mail).

It is important to preserve electronic system information about tenders submitted by electronic communication. Electronic communications containing tenders should be transferred into a secure archive where they cannot be deleted by automatic system purging or otherwise deleted or sent to recycle bins.

On receiving a tender by other electronic means, the Secretary, or other persons acting for the TOC at the Tender Closing Office, should:



When the information is in an appropriate form and it is practical, arrange for the electronically communicated tenders to be lodged in the etendering System; or otherwise



Print out the tender, or transfer the tender to electronic media (such as CD or diskette); and



Place it in the tender box or hand it to the TOC if it is meeting.

The TOC Secretary must provide all necessary information to the TOC concerning the times and circumstances of receipt of such tenders.

Tender boxes

A tender box must as a minimum have the following features:



in normal circumstances facsimile tender boxes and other electronic systems should be accessible for submission by tenderers as close to 24 hours 7 days a week as necessary system maintenance and system provider interruptions allow;



a physical tender box should be easily accessible during normal business hours, however it must also be located to ensure ease of TCO surveillance, security and safety, and have a lodgement entry large enough for most tenders to be placed into it but not to permit unauthorised access; and the entry, slot or opening through which tenders are lodged (or other access and storage arrangements for large tender packages) must be able to be securely sealed or monitored so as to prevent tenders being placed in the box at the times it is to be sealed; and


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

a physical tender box must be of sturdy construction and have suitable access controls in place so that only authorised persons can open it when an unopened tender could be contained within.

Receiving tenders in a physical tender box

The hours during which tenders may be lodged in a physical tender box (for example, during normal business hours if the tender box is located inside a building) will normally be specified in the RFT documents to suit local agency arrangements.

Tenderers (through their employees, agents or couriers delivering tenders directly to Tender

Closing/Receiving Offices) would normally be required to lodge their tenders, including any diskettes, CDs or other required material, in the nominated tender box. This may require special arrangements in the following circumstances.

If the tender package or separate part of a tender package is too large to fit into the tender box, a receipt may be issued to the lodger confirming the time and date of receiving the tender package and the time and date being noted on its separate parts and, as this information is confidential until tender opening; placed in the tender box. The unopened tender documents must then be locked in a secure cupboard or room. The cupboard or room should be as secure as a tender box. A memorandum, giving receipt details and location details of the stored tender, must be completed and then placed in the tender box.

The tender box should be sealed at the tender closing time (or another means used to intercept and record tenders) and remain sealed for the duration of the Tender Opening

Committee (TOC) meeting. During this time tenders should be received by the TOC

Secretary or other officers, such as reception staff, designated and trained for that purpose, who must immediately record the date and time of receiving the tender in the unopened tender container. Each such tender and the record must then be immediately handed to the

TOC if the TOC meeting is in progress or, if the meeting has by then concluded, placed unopened in the tender box.

Tenders handed to the TOC that close at a later date and tenders found in a tender box which are closing at a later date must be dated and stamped by the TOC on the tender envelope or container or covering page, initialled by members and returned to the tender box at the conclusion of the TOC meeting.

Receiving tenders by facsimile

Tenders should be accepted by facsimile where the TCO/TRO has suitable facsimile


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facilities and this is allowed in the RFT documents. Dedicated and secure facsimile facilities should be used for the tender box.

Where possible, a facsimile dedicated solely to the receipt of tenders should be secured either in a locked box or, where a room is used only for the purpose of opening tenders and is secure, in that Tender Opening Room.

If the designated facsimile is not dedicated to, and secure during the receipt of tenders and is also used to receive other documents, it must be made secure when tenders are being received so they remain confidential. Also, tenders received through such a facsimile must also be:



Lodged in a physical tender box; or



If the tender box is closed while a meeting of the toc is in progress, immediately handed to the toc; and then



Processed in the same way as other tenders.

If tenders are received at other than designated facsimiles, officers must advise the appropriate TOC Secretary immediately and ensure that the facsimiled documents received show, or have on an attachment, the:



RFT name and number;



location, name and signature of the receiving officer;



date and time of receipt, or time transmission commenced and duration of transmission, to enable calculation of the time receipt was completed (attach a copy of the facsimile journal printout to the tender); and



description of the circumstances of the receipt and handling (to allow security/confidentiality to be assessed).

4. Tenders not received in a physical tender box as specified

Tenders received by post in the Tender Closing Office or Tender Receiving Office addressed to the tender box must be (stamped) and immediately placed unopened in a tender box, or if the tender box is sealed and a meeting of the Tender Opening Committee (TOC) is in progress, handed to the TOC.

Where envelopes or other containers including a tender are opened by mistake, or a tender is discovered outside a tender box, such as among other correspondence or other papers, the officer discovering the tender must:



record the following details on the opened envelope or container


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o RFT name and number; o Location, name and signature of the receiving officer; and o Date and time the tender was first discovered, with a written description of the circumstances of the discovery;



without further examining the tender, immediately re-seal it in the opened or in a fresh envelope or container; and



immediately advise the TOC Secretary, and promptly place the tender in the tender box or, if the tender box is closed while a meeting of the TOC is in progress, hand it to the

TOC.



Information contained in the unintentionally –opened tender documents must remain confidential and shall not be disclosed to ANY external party or internally to other officers, including members of the TOC.

5. Basis for acceptance of tenders

Tenders lodged electronically will be treated in accordance with the Electronic Transactions

Act, and must be treated with confidentiality and probity, in the same way as tenders lodged by other means.

Tenders lodged into a tender box or a facsimile facility (except as indicated below) are accepted on the condition that the tenderer takes responsibility for making sure the tender is fully received prior to tender closing time, at the nominated tender box or facsimile facility in the Tender Closing Office or Tender Receiving Offices. If a tender is late it may still be eligible for consideration if the relevant conditions outlined in Section Handling Late Tenders apply.

Tenders received into the eTendering System are classified as late (the system may report them as Late or TCDL- Tender Closed During Lodgement) in either case the tender is late ; as when transmission starts before tender closing time but is not fully completed and received, encrypted and stored securely in time. While such tenders are classified as late, they may still be eligible for consideration if the relevant conditions outlined in Section

Handling Late Tenders apply.

A tender lodged electronically by other means (including applicable facsimile facilities), as a single secure transmission that is held securely by the agency, where transmission starts before tender closing time but is not completed in time, may also still be eligible for consideration.


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A tender lodgement must include the entire price and other key information required with the tender to enable it to be considered as on time and sufficiently complete to allow it to be considered.

When tenderers lodge more than one tender for an RFT, the RFT documents will normally require the tenderer to clearly label each tender electronically or otherwise, identifying whether a tender is a copy, supersedes a previously lodged tender, is an alternative, or is additional to a previously lodged tender.

6. Security of tenders lodged

Tender Closing Offices (TCO) and Tender Receiving Offices (TRO) must ensure tender security and confidentiality are maintained when using tender boxes. To ensure security and confidentiality of the tenders between lodgement and tender opening and scheduling, the following protocols for physical and facsimile tender boxes are applied. A single receiving officer is not to have access to duplicate copies of both keyed locks.

Physical tender boxes

To ensure no one person has access to a tender box, the tender box should be fitted with two different locks so that both locks need to be unlocked independently of each other with different keys before the box can be opened. The keys to the two locks must then be held separately, in secure places (for example, a safe or similarly secure device) by different officers.

It is important that the release and return of the keys are controlled and recorded in a tender key register, and the authorised key holders confirm that different rostered members of that day’s TOC have control of each key provided. The Convenor and the TOC Secretary could each get one key from each authorised key holder to use during a TOC meeting, and return them as soon as possible afterwards. The keys should only be made available shortly before the tender closing time.

Because a key may be lost, one duplicate key must be made and kept in a secure place (for example, a local bank). When a key is lost, a duplicate key should only be used, as an interim measure, until a new lock is fitted to the tender box. The duplicate keys should only be reclaimable with a request signed by both the nominated key holders.


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If there is a delay in obtaining a key which prevents the opening of the tender box at the required time, arrangements must be made to ensure tenders lodged after the due time are recorded as late tenders.

For the DoE Procurement tender box, the Contracts and Documents Officer will hold the key to one lock, and the Category Manager will hold the key to the second lock. The Chief

Procurement Officer (or a delegate) will hold a duplicate of each key in a separate secure location.

The box, or door to the Tender Opening Room, should be locked with two different locks (or otherwise secured so two people are needed to open it) so that both locks must be opened or unlocked independently of the other before the box, or door, can be opened. Management of these keys would then be subject to the same control and security restrictions required for other tender box keys. Alternatively dedicated PC facsimile may be used, with ‘two-key’ style access control restrictions.

For the facsimile to be secure, the arrangements will ensure the security and confidentiality of tender information received via facsimile is equivalent to that with any other tender box, and preclude the need (as with tenders received through a general purpose facsimile) to place a facsimiled tender into another tender box. eTendering system access

Access to the eTendering System is secured in the following way:



access to the eTendering System is restricted to accredited password holders; and



tenders are encrypted on receipt and are opened using a passphrase generated by an authorised publisher, and controlled and secured by the eTendering

Administrator.

Access to tenders through the eTendering System administration console is generally restricted to trained and authorised officers with passwords and user codes. Access is allowed for specific system functions or for a particular RFT or for a particular TOC. Support staff having access to the data are subject to access control and must be authorised for each access to such data.

RFT storage locations in the eTendering System should only be opened, prior to initial scheduling of the RFT, by a TOC. If it is necessary to open the tender box without a TOC before initial scheduling of the tenders for that RFT, due to IT system issues or other


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emergency reasons, a record must be made in the TOC minutes of who accessed, when, why, who was present, and who authorised the access.

Receipt and storage of samples and other material

When an RFT requires, or encourages, the submission of samples, models, deposits, or other material, that is not required to be lodged in a tender box, the officer responsible for the tender process must advise the TOC Secretary of this in advance, and advise where such material is to be stored securely until the tender evaluation is completed or arrangements are made about longer term storage or handling.

When samples or other such material are unexpectedly lodged with a tender, the TOC

Secretary must contact the Contact Officer nominated for the RFT to arrange receipt or collection and storage of the samples.

RFT documents will normally nominate when such material should not be lodged in a tender box. If this material is identified in a tender box a note must be made in the TOC minutes and the material may be stored by the TOC until it is transferred to the Contact Officer.

7. Opening tenders

Prior to opening tenders, the Convenor of the Tender Opening Committee must sight the approved Tender Evaluation Plan for each tender closing. Certification that the approved plan has been sighted prior to opening is included in the Tender Opening Report.

Members of the public may be present to witness the opening of tenders; but they must be prevented from seeing confidential details of the tenders received. A member of the public or a tenderer’s representative must not handle any tender documents or samples.

A tenderer’s representative, who provides suitable identification establishing that he or she is such a representative, may be advised that the company’s tender has been identified as received. At that stage, no other information on the number of tenders received, the names of tenderers or prices received is to be given to members of the public, including representatives of tenderers. Details of the attendees other than TOC members must be recorded by the TOC.


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8. Tender Opening Committees

To safeguard the security and confidentiality of all tenders, tenders must be opened by or in the presence of a Tender Opening Committee (TOC) as soon as practicable after the date and time fixed for the closing of tenders for the RFT.

Each TOC, regardless of location, must consist of at least a Convenor, a Secretary and another member, who together constitute a quorum. A quorum of TOC members must remain together for the entire time tenders are being received, opened and recorded.

A TOC should convene either on a particular RFT closing date or the TOC should be informed in advance what tenders are closing that day to help allow the planning of the meeting. TOC members should allow enough time to assemble before the time fixed for the closing of tenders to witness the opening of tender boxes. Tenders must not be closed, meetings should not be scheduled, on public holidays or the day after a public holiday, or when insufficient time or people or facilities will be available for the opening of tenders.

TOC meetings should take place in rooms approved and designated for this purpose, including in locations nominated as providing alternative tender boxes for tender lodgement

(at Tender Closing Offices and Tender Receiving Offices).

Suitable and consistent Tender Opening Rooms must be made available to ensure that the

TOC can perform its functions safely and in comfort, with confidentiality, privacy and security.

Each TCO/TRO must provide a suitably sized and equipped room, if practical with a double locked door for security, for the use of the TOC as a Tender Opening Room. The keys should be held securely by the Officer –in-Charge.

All members of the TOC and any officer receiving tenders and/or assisting the TOC must be skilled in tender processes, have signed a Code of Conduct for the Tendering Process , or an equivalent document that gives a confidentiality undertaking and conflict of interest declaration for each tender involved.

Refer to Code of Conduct template within the Evaluation Plan Template .

The Contracts and Documents Officer arranges a roster to nominate officers as TOC members for DoE Procurement Solutions to perform the TOC duties. The Contracts and


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Documents Officer prepares rosters identifying the numbers of officers required to act as

Convenor and other member of TOC for the roster period. The rosters are drawn up on a minimum three-monthly basis.

If for any reason a rostered officer cannot attend a TOC meeting, it is their responsibility where possible to arrange for a suitable substitute officer to attend in their place and to inform the TOC Secretary of the change. Members of the TOC must not communicate information about tenderers or tenders to any unauthorised person.

9. Accessing the eTendering system

Tenders lodged into the eTendering System can only be opened after the names and passwords of all the TOC members with access rights are entered into the System.

10. Marking (hardcopy) tender pages

The hard copy pages of a tender which contain price information and monetary references, and any:



letter submitted by the tenderer;



tender entity information;



tender declaration;



percentage discounts;



supply fee deeds;



alternative specification or contract conditions, or tender qualifications; and



pages of any attached price list, must be marked by the TOC (for example, with a franking machine or with a stamp) so that a substitute page cannot be inserted at any later stage. At least two Tender Opening

Committee members must also confirm and initial any pages marked in this way.

11. Recording tenders

General information associated with the activities of the TOC and any special notations for

RFT should be recorded by the TOC in a minute book. Information relevant to each RFT and each individual tender is to be recorded on a Schedule of Tenders form for each specific

RFT. An Initial Tender Recording must be made of all on-time tenders and signed by the

TOC, as described below. Further recordings on any subsequent Schedule of Tenders must indicate what revision the Schedule is and the reason for revision. The mode of tenders


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received must be recorded, including email, hardcopy in tender box, eTendering system, tender facsimile.

12. Minutes of the Tender Opening Committee meeting

The information recorded by the TOC as minutes should include:



the Tender Closing Office and scheduled date of the TOC meeting;



the names of the TOC Convenor, member(s), and Secretary;



the names of any attendees at the TOC meeting (for example project officers, auditors, officers assisting the TOC, members of the public, tenderers representatives);



for each RFT closing in that Tender Closing Office, the RFT name and number, the type of tender (for example, selective, pre-registered, open or invited) and the time the TOC members sign the completed Schedule of Tenders (Initial Tender

Recording);



for each tender closing in another office, the RFT name and number with the time the tender was received together with the tenderer’s name and a description of the circumstances of the receipt;



for each late tender, RFT name and number with the time the tender was received together with the tenderer’s name and circumstances of the receipt;



any articles found in the tender box that are not tenders or related to tenders such as general mail;



the mode of each tender received (ie email, hardcopy in tender box, eTendering system, tender facsimile);



the entry and exit times of the TOC members and any other persons entering the

Tender Opening Room; and



the date and time the TOC meeting opened, was suspended, resumed and closed.

The Minutes should be stamped by the TOC immediately after the final entry. After verification of their correctness, the Convenor, Secretary and other members should sign the minutes. Electronic minutes must make provision for verification and ‘signing’ by all TOC members.

13. Handling late tenders

Each TOC is responsible for reporting on the apparent circumstances surrounding the receipt of late tenders. The TOC should record, and note on the late tender container or elsewhere where it is forwarded unopened, whether the circumstances of receipt indicate that the late tender is acceptable for consideration.


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Refer NSW Government Code of Practice for Procurement.

A late tender is one that is lodged, but by the tender closing date and time it is verified that:



the complete tender is not received in the tender box at the Tender Closing Office, a

Tender Receiving Office, or an alternative location specified in the RFT documents;



the tender is not fully received at a facsimile facility designated for the receipt of tenders in the RFT documents; or



an electronic communication of the tender has not yet been fully received, encrypted, and securely stored for that RFT in the eTendering System, or a hard copy of an emailed tender is not in one of the tender boxes above.

The NSW Government Code of Practice for Procurement requires that late tenders should not be considered unless the client is satisfied that the integrity and competitiveness of the tender process have not been compromised. To be considered complete or completely received or fully received, a tender must include all pricing and other key information required by the RFT documents.

This means that late tenders may only be considered where:



recorded or verifiable circumstances apply that ensure it is certain the integrity and competitiveness of the tender process would not be compromised by considering the late tender; and



exceptional circumstances apply, such as the tender being the only tender, that ensure it is certain the integrity and competitiveness of the tender process would not be compromised by considering the late tender; or



lateness is specified in the RFT documents as not being a bar to consideration (such as with some Expressions of Interest (EOI) processes).

The definition of a late tender is a hard and fast one which is intended to ensure that any tender, where its consideration could compromise the integrity and competitiveness of the tender process, considering the time of submission, is clearly identified and is subject to appropriate, transparent and sound decision-making.

Given the sensitivities associated with considering and accepting late tenders, it is critical that the evaluating officer(s) ensure appropriate approvals are obtained for related decisions.

Tender Opening Committees must ensure that all late tender envelopes/containers are prominently marked "late tender". Tender Opening Committees must record and provide a description of the circumstances of receipt and may mark on a late tender, or otherwise give a certification where applicable, if a late tender is received in circumstances where it is


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certain that the integrity and competitiveness of the tender process have not been compromised.

In the case of some RFT such as an EOI process (being the first stage of a two stage tender process) the confidential, competitive, “price sensitive” and commercial-in-confidence information is often very limited. Such an RFT may not need to be subject to the above tests for lateness. However, to preserve appropriate levels of confidentiality, officers evaluating such a late RFT should be satisfied that the sensitive information it contains is significantly different from its competitors to indicate that it is unlikely information from them could have assisted in framing the one that was late.

Lateness may only be ignored where the RFT documents specify lodgement by a particular time is not required.

Integrity and competitiveness certainly not compromised

The integrity and competitiveness of the tender process will not be compromised when a late tender has left the control of the tenderer (including where the tender is completely received) before the Initial Tender Recording for that RFT is complete. Then it is certain, because the other tenders are held securely by the TOC during the Initial Tender Recording, and that information from these other tenders could not have been provided to the tenderer before submitting the late tender. The lateness would then not have allowed information from the other tenders to have been communicated to, and used by, the tenderer lodging the late tender; or provided an unfair advantage to the late tenderer from any additional time to prepare their tender or utilise further information.

Considering a late tender will not compromise the integrity and competitiveness of the tender process for a RFT in the following circumstances:



tender is received through the post in envelopes clearly bearing an Australia Post postmark or other verifiable Australia Post imprint, showing any date before the date tenders close, with or without any time shown;



tender is received through the post in envelopes clearly bearing an official Australia

Post postmark, or other verifiable Australia Post imprint, clearly showing a time before the tender closing time, or before the ITR for that RFT is completed, on the date tenders close;



tender is delivered by the tenderer or a person or courier employed by the tenderer to the tender box and that tender is received by TCO/TRO staff, or is otherwise held securely and controlled by the agency, before the ITR for that RFT is completed;



tender transmission to the eTendering System that started before the tender closing time (classified as Tender Closed During Lodgement by the eTendering System);


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

tender transmission to other electronic information system/e-mail (where it is lodged electronically and completed as a single secure transmission and then held securely by the agency) that starts before the tender closing time;



tender is fully received at a designated facsimile facility before the ITR for that RFT is completed; and



tender is received by electronic communication other than facsimile, where the electronic communication of the tender has been fully received in the eTendering

System or other information system (such as e-mail) and is held securely and controlled by the agency before the ITR for that RFT is completed.

Late tenders for a RFT received in the following circumstances should not be considered further unless exceptional circumstances apply:



late tenders received through the post in envelopes bearing an Australia Post postmark or other imprint showing the date tenders close, without a time, or with a time later than the time the ITR was completed for that RFT;



late tenders received through the post in envelopes bearing a handwritten date or time, but not a date or time stamped or certified by Australia Post;



late tenders in envelopes bearing the imprint of a privately operated franking machine but not a date or time stamped or certified by Australian Post;



late tenders delivered by the tenderer or a person or courier employed by the tenderer after the ITR was completed for that RFT;



late tenders received by facsimile that are not fully received into the facility until after the completion of the ITR for that RFT, notwithstanding that delay may be due to the receiving facsimile being engaged, faulty or otherwise inoperative; and



late tenders received by electronic communication other than facsimile, where the electronic communication of the tender did not start before the tender closing time, and has not been fully received into the eTendering System or other information system controlled by the agency before the ITR was completed for that RFT.

Exceptional circumstances

In exceptional circumstances late tenders that are received other than in circumstances where it is certain that the integrity and competitiveness of the tender process will not be compromised described above, may be considered, including if the following apply:



there is a delay beyond the tenderer's control, where: o the cause of the lateness was beyond the tenderer's control, including misdirection or mishandling by the agency; and o the late tender differs from other tenders to a degree that it is unlikely that information from other tenders could have assisted in framing or pricing the late tender; or



the late tender is the only tender received, where: o no other acceptable or potentially acceptable tender is received before that tender is considered; and o there is no reason to believe that the tenderer framed or priced that tender in the knowledge that it would be the only tender.


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Causes of lateness, such as a major disaster, earthquake, exceptional storms or bushfires, or a major road or rail accident, or a telecommunications network collapse, or critical failure of the eTendering System may be considered to be beyond the tenderer's control. Causes such as general traffic delay, lost couriers, local IT or electronic communication failure or interruption, or congested, engaged, faulty or inoperable facsimiles, are not normally regarded as beyond the tenderer's control.

Consideration by officers evaluating tenders

Officers evaluating tenders may consider, without further analysis or review as to lateness, late tenders which a Tender Opening Committee has certified as acceptable for consideration. Such a certification would be subject to the review of authorised and approved senior officers and the approving authority where justified by the circumstances involved.

Whether to consider one or more late tenders in exceptional circumstances, where the

Tender Opening Committee has not certified a tender as acceptable for consideration, would be a matter for the judgement of the officers evaluating tenders and those reviewing these evaluations. The award of contracts to such late tenders requires special consideration and approval, and would be subject to the evidence and reasoning supporting these decisions being effectively documented.

14. Distributing tenders

The TOC Secretary should securely file the original Schedule of Tenders Received in a central register, and this and any copies should be retained according to the DoE's records management requirements.

Electronic tenders should be recorded on secure media, such as write only CD-ROM/DVD, as a master copy for secure retention by the Tender Closing Office until the contract is awarded or tender process is completed, and a verified copy on secure medium, such as write only CD-ROM/DVD, made for distribution for use in the tender evaluation.

The TOC Secretary should place the tenders (including all the material submitted such as brochures, diskettes, CDs, documents, envelopes, containers etc) with the relevant

Schedule of Tenders, and inform the officer(s) performing the tender evaluation they are ready for collection or other arranged distribution.


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The TOC Secretary should ensure before the tenders are released that the officer receiving the tenders for evaluation provides written certification by the person responsible for the tender evaluation and recommending a tender for acceptance, that a Tender Evaluation Plan has been completed for that RFT.

The distributed copy of the Schedule of Tenders should be retained by the officer responsible for the RFT with the contract records, such as a contract file or tender evaluation file.

15. Announcement of tenders received

As soon as practical after each TOC meeting, the TOC Secretary should post on a public noticeboard at the Tender Closing Office and/or the eTendering System (where it has been used for the tender process) the following verified information about each tender that was lodged for each RFT, in alphabetical name order:



the RFT name and number;



the tender closing date; and



the name and address (where known ) of the tenderer’s purported legal entity.

Any exemption sought by a tenderer or officer to this public disclosure in order to maintain confidentiality or for other reasons, must be discussed and confirmed prior to the close of tenders, or on completion of the TOC meeting (where raised in a tender), with the responsible senior manager to determine the approach to be taken on a case by case basis.

16. Record management

Documents that form a contract or may be required by law to form a contract must be retained in an approved format on the official project file.


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17

Tender Opening and Receipt Guidelines

Tender Opening and Receipt Guidelines

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Tender Opening and Receipt Guidelines

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