Pre-qualify as a supplier on our Arrangements

To become a Local Buy Supplier, your business must respond to the relevant tender/s when Local Buy opens them on 1^st February, 1^st May, 1^st August and 1^st November each year. 

You cannot apply to become a supplier outside of these timeframes and you cannot become a supplier unless you have completed the tender process and been approved.

Generally, tenders are open for the entire month.

Local Buy uses an online tendering portal called APET360 and you will need to create and log into this portal to commence the tender process. See how to set up your APET360 account here.

The tender process takes three months, and an appointment confirmation email will be sent to the nominated contact on your tender. 

VIEW OPEN TENDERS

The process

You will be asked a series of questions pertaining to your business including:

• managerial and technical capabilities,
• experience in your field,
• quality,
• environment and workplace health and safety information.

We will also ask you to verify your financial capabilities and to provide insurance and compliance certificates depending on which Arrangement you are hoping to become pre-qualified for.

Please note, the mandatory minimum level of insurance cover for all Local Buy Suppliers is $20M Public Liability Insurance. If you do not hold this level of cover, you will not be appointed as a Local Buy Supplier.

You must answer all the questions within the tender before it closes to be evaluated to become a pre-qualified supplier.

Once tenders have been evaluated and you are successful, you will be emailed an appointment letter welcoming you to Local Buy including information about next steps. This process takes around 8 weeks from when the tenders close.

Arrangements Open Each Local Buy Arrangement is open for the entire month for suppliers to tender. This is where you will respond to a series of questions that will inform us about who you are and the scope of service / goods you provide.

Evaluation A team of internal and external evaluators are now assessing your submission. Please keep an eye out in your inbox for any clarifications (additional questions) we may have about your information.

Appointment Once your submission is assessed and deemed successful, you will be invited to be appointed to the arrangement. Once appointed (and all relative insurances loaded), you may commence trading as a Local Buy pre-qualified Supplier.

 

Being a Local Buy pre-qualified supplier is not beneficial for every business. There are on-going monthly obligations and fees to be paid when you win work through a Local Buy Arrangement. It is important that you are fully aware of these before making the decision to apply to become a pre-qualified supplier.

If your organisation is not a Local Buy supplier, you can still work with councils and government authorities. You can still be engaged through a Public Tender, selected to join a council's preferred supplier list or directly through an RFQ. However, many government entities choose to use Local Buy to streamline procurement. 

What obligations are there as a pre-qualified supplier?

Monthly Returns

As a pre-qualified supplier, you are required to submit a Monthly Report which details any work you have undertaken with purchasers under Local Buy LGA Arrangements. Monthly reporting is completed through the Local Buy Reporting Portal and quick and easy to complete. You will then be invoiced by Local Buy (generally quarterly) for the Contract Management Fees.

Code of Conduct

There is a Supplier Code of Conduct(PDF, 264KB) (the Code) that sets out the expectations of our suppliers and is grounded in our commitment to sustainable, ethical and socially responsible procurement on behalf of our buyers.

VendorPanel

As a Local Buy supplier you will need to make sure that you maintain your company profile in VendorPanel. VendorPanel is the online procurement platform that Local Buy customers use to secure requests for quotation from suppliers.

Keeping your VendorPanel profile up to date is extremely important as this is where our customers look to find out about your organisation. VendorPanel is also where all your compliance documentation is stored and is available for our customers to view and download. These compliances include:

• Insurances (Public Liability & where required Professional Indemnity)
• Licenses (if applicable)
• Work Cover (if applicable)

Pricing schedules (if they pertain to the arrangement you are on)

VendorPanel is also where you can add colleagues to be notified of potential business opportunities and where you view requests for quote issued to you by a council.

Events

We hold monthly Supplier Welcome Sessions both in person in our Brisbane office, and online. All suppliers are encouraged to attend. 

VIEW EVENTS

Read more in the benefits of being a Local Buy Supplier or download our brochures from the right-hand menu.

Set up your APET360 account

The video below takes you through the step-by-step process to set up your APET360 account. You need to set up an APET360 to apply for a tender to become a pre-qualified supplier on our Arrangements.

 Set up your account on APET360