Councils enter into contracts for a range of goods, services and works needed to deliver council services and infrastructure.
It is essential that councils are achieving value for money for the community when carrying out procurement activities.
Procurement Best Practice Guidelines
The Local Government Best Practice Procurement Guidelines help councils understand their obligations and maintain best-practice approaches to procurement.
The guidelines can be used by both local government procurement specialists and by staff engaged in routine procurement activities.
The guidelines detail legislative requirements and guide councils through the various stages of the procurement process: planning, implementation, management, evaluation and reporting.
Local Government Best Practice Procurement Guidelines PDF, 1505.17 KB
Local Government Best Practice Procurement guidelines DOC, 1246.5 KB
The Local Government Act 2020 received Royal Assent on 24 March 2020. Councils are now required to have their own procurement policy in place that determines a council’s approach to procuring goods and services and procurement thresholds.
A preface to the Guide was developed to serve councils with information on the new requirements of the legislation.
Preface to new Best Practice Procurement Guidelines PDF, 308.99 KB
The Independent Broad-based Anti Corruption Commission’s 2019 special report ‘Corruption Risks Associated with Procurement in Local Government’ recommended LGV consider the development of a code of conduct for suppliers to Victorian councils.
LGV, with the Department of Treasury and Finance and the Victorian Government Purchasing Board has developed a template Supplier Code of Conduct for the local government sector.
A template for the Supplier Code of Conduct for Local Government can be found here DOCX, 1548.9 KB
Social procurement
Social procurement is a way to generate social value through purchasing and procurement processes that benefit the community.
Beyond Value for Money: Social Procurement for Victorian Local Government is the guidance issued to council on social procurement. It is co-published by LGV and the Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV).
The social procurement guide is a practical step-by-step guide for councils to assist them to incorporate social procurement into every stage of a procurement project.
Beyond Value for Money: Social Procurement for Victorian Local Government 2nd Edition PDF, 582.75 KB
Regional procurement excellence networks
The regional procurement excellence networks (RPENs) are council networks formed to encourage engagement between procurement and purchasing officers. RPENs provide a platform for local governments to collaborate on procurement and general business practices.
There are nine RPEN groups, with representation from all 79 councils.
LGPro’s procurement special interest group is the central coordinating point for RPENs and may be contacted for further information.