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G/5.3 Purchasing policy |
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5.3.1 Supply of goods and services In conjunction with the provisions of the Financial Administration and Audit Act 1977, the Financial Management Standard 1997 and the Public Sector Ethics Act 1994, QUT is guided in arranging for the supply of goods and services by the provisions of the Queensland Government State Procurement Policy 2008 and must comply with the Australian New Zealand Government Procurement Agreement. The Queensland Government has identified a number of whole-of-Government priorities and outcomes for policy and service delivery. The University must seek to use its purchasing activities to advance the following State Procurement Policy objectives
Government priorities The University must seek to advance Government priorities. The priorities define the Government's commitment to advance through its purchasing certain economic, community, and environmental objectives. For example, the University should use its best endeavours to ensure that competitive local firms that comply with relevant legislation are given a full, fair and reasonable opportunity to supply to it, and to deal with suppliers who treat their employees fairly. Value for money The University must seek to obtain value for money in its purchasing of goods and services. Services include the engagement of contractors and consultants. The concept of value for money is not restricted to price alone. The value for money assessment must include consideration of:
Probity and accountability for outcomes The University must conduct its purchasing activities with the utmost probity. Some relevant probity and accountability requirements are set out in legislation. The University is to ensure that its purchasing is carried out in accordance with such obligations as may be placed upon it by the relevant legislation. Handling complaints The University is required to have in place a central point of contact for suppliers unable to find resolution of complaints within the relevant faculty or division. Concerns of this nature should be formally addressed in writing to the Director, Corporate Finance. The process for handling the complaint will follow the Queensland Purchasing Better Purchasing Guide entitled “Managing Complaints about Purchasing” available from http://www.qgm.qld.gov.au . Procurement planning An important preliminary part of the deliberative process of achieving the objectives of the State Procurement Policy is procurement planning. Procurement planning facilitates a structured and considered approach to purchasing. Procurement planning is based on an analysis of the University's expenditure to establish purchasing patterns and supply markets. The University uses supply market analysis in an effort to maximise value for money for QUT and to provide opportunities for local suppliers. Corporate Finance will from time to time review the University's purchasing patterns and supply markets to develop the procurement profile of the University. Significant Categories# of expenditure across the University will be identified for procurement planning. The University is required to prepare an annual Corporate Procurement Plan, including a schedule of significant one-off purchases* for goods and services that have been identified by faculties and divisions. The information for this will be obtained from faculties and divisions from their annual budget preparation work papers. The Financial Management Practice and Procedures Manual (Chapter 4) provides a comprehensive coverage of the University's purchasing procedures. # " Significant categories " are defined as having a value of $1,000,000 or greater across the University per 12 month period and/or difficult to secure supply * " Significant one off purchases " are defined as having a value of $100,000 or greater per 12 month period and/or critical to QUT but difficult to secure supply. 5.3.1 Supply of goods and servicesThe supply of goods and services to QUT can be obtained through various suppliers, providing that standard purchasing guidelines are followed. Staff must not enter into a commitment for the performance of a service or the supply of goods or services, including contractors and consultants, unless funds are available and the appropriate electronic approval in the QUT Finance System has been obtained. Queensland State legislation (including the State Procurement Policy) dictate that all purchasing decisions should be conducted in a fair and competitive manner transparent enough to withstand public scrutiny. Normally, competitive quotes must be obtained and documented. Where the estimated cost (exclusive of GST, where applicable) is
One-off purchases greater than $100,000 are considered " Significant " and automatically require a Planned Procurement Approach to be undertaken. All purchases over $20,000 normally entail inviting three quotations or, where this is not appropriate, reasoning for using alternate purchasing strategy (called a Planned Procurement Approach or PPA) which must be documented and approved by an appropriate financial delegate. The PPA must be able to demonstrate that the purchasing approach taken provides the best outcome for the University in terms of economy and efficiency of University expenditure. To ensure that the rationale for any purchasing decision is transparent and auditable, reference to documentation containing evidence of compliance is maintained in our accounting system as an audit trail. 5.3.2 Petty cashPurchases using petty cash are limited in value to $50. Single items costing more than $50 may not be split into two or more transactions in order to comply with this limit. For purchases made through the petty cash system, no record of telephone quotations is required. A tax invoice is not required. Faculties and divisions should establish a Petty Cash Float, to be managed by a suitably trained Finance Officer, for the reimbursement of low value miscellaneous expenses that cannot be paid through Corporate Card or the University Finance System. A senior officer of the faculty or division should be responsible for ensuring that the float is independently verified on a regular basis and that the system is working effectively Procedures for the establishment, use and reconciliation of Petty Cash Floats are detailed in the Financial Management Practice and Procedures Manual (Chapter 2). 5.3.3 Chemical acquisition (purchase or donation)The acquisition of chemicals must comply with QUT's chemical management policy (see A/9.8 ). All acquisitions of designated hazardous substances# or dangerous goods* must be accompanied by a risk assessment and the approval of the head of school / department prior to acquisition. Radioactive substances and irradiating apparatus included in the provisions of the Queensland Radiation Safety Act 1999 require written risk assessments and approval of the head of school / department. Within the Radiation Safety regulatory requirements, prior to the acquisition of radioactive substances and irradiation apparatus, the relevant staff member must liaise with the University Radiation Safety Officer in the School of Physical and Chemical Sciences. As well, email notification of both sealed and unsealed source acquisitions should be made to the Chemical and Biosafety Advisor in HR Health and Safety Advisory Services. # as listed on the Australian Safety and Compensation Council website (Hazardous Substances and Dangerous Goods) 5.3.4 Engagement and use of consultantsIn accordance with Queensland Government legislation, the University is required to comply with the State Procurement Policy guidelines for the engagement and management of consultants. A consultant is defined as an organisation or individual contracted to perform a specific task and to provide specific expert advice as an independent contractor by exercising his or her own skill and judgment and where the University does not exercise detailed control over the work performed. Approval of consultancy proposals will be in accordance with the Schedule of Authorities and Delegations ( Appendix 3 ). Full details of the appropriate procedures on the engagement and use of consultants can be found in the Financial Management Practice and Procedures Manual (Chapter 4 ). Responsibility Centre managers (and consultancy project managers) must ensure that the University complies with this policy. 5.3.5 Software acquisitionThe University has adopted a position that when acquiring software, Open Source Software (OSS) must be considered and deployed where it is both possible and efficient to do so. OSS is software for which the underlying programming code is often freely available to anyone so that they may read it, make changes to it, and build new versions of the software by incorporating their own changes. OSS allows for anyone with programming experience to revise and change the code to suit their individual needs. It also allows full customisation to tailor for individual needs. It is recognised that OSS will not be efficient in all cases. Advice regarding consideration of OSS and assistance on discovering OSS options is available from Information Technology Services by contacting a Client Relations Manager. The Financial Management Practice and Procedures Manual (Chapter 4) provides a comprehensive coverage of the University's purchasing procedures. Modification History
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