FAQs
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Local Buy was established by the Local Government Association of Queensland (LGAQ) to provide value added procurement services to councils and government entities by aggregating the purchasing power of local government.
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A contract (LGA Arrangement) established by Local Buy, enables councils and other eligible entities to purchase goods and services from Local Buy contracted suppliers without having to undertake a separate procurement process. Local Buy is required by the Local Government Act 2009 to conduct an open tender process to establish these contracts.
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Local Buy’s Arrangements are established as a free service to councils and government entities. Local Buy does not receive any external funding and operates by applying a contract management fee, which is charged to suppliers every quarter as a percentage of their revenue generated from local government business through the relevant Local Buy contract. There is also an annual administration fee applicable per Arrangement.
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To become a Local Buy supplier, you must successfully respond to a tender advertised by Local Buy.
When you reply to a Local Buy tender, your response will be evaluated by a panel of Local Buy staff and local government subject matter experts prior to tenders being awarded. Local Buy’s Arrangement are typically established for between two and three years.
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VendorPanel is an online request for quotation portal used by councils and government entities to send online request for quotations (RFQs) to Local Buy suppliers, therefore increasing transparency and compliance in their purchasing activities.
There is no cost to use Local Buy’s VendorPanel portal, risk is reduced and the RFQ process is sound and compliant with legislation. Councils and government entities access Local Buy’s contract and supplier information via a login and password on vendorpanel.com.au/localbuy.
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A request for tender (RFT) is a structured procurement process in which an organisation issues an invitation to suppliers for particular goods and/or services prior to an arrangement being established.
A request for quote (RFQ) is a less formal request to suppliers to provide a quote for the supply of products and/or services.
A contract is a signed agreement between two organisations for the delivery of products and/or services on agreed terms and conditions. A contract can be formed through an RFT, RFQ or through some other form of negotiation.
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An expression of interest (EOI) is when an organisation wishes to identify companies that can deliver particular services, products or a particular project prior to undertaking a more formal procurement process.
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There are three different types of purchasing arrangements that local governments are able to tender and establish a contract for. These are:
Approved Contractor List (ACL); is a list of persons who the local government considers to be appropriately qualified to provide the required services and which is established pursuant to the requirements of s.231 of the Local Government Regulation 2012.
Preferred Supplier Arrangement (PSA): is a contractual arrangement set up when the requirements of s.233 of the Local Government Regulation 2012 are met. PSAs are generally used when goods and/or services will be supplied under agreed pricing conditions for a stated period meaning that Council can purchase directly from a supplier without the need for a further Request for Quotation process.
Register of Pre-Qualified Suppliers (RPQS): is a contractual arrangement set up when the requirements of s.232 of the Local Government Regulation 2012 are met which consists of suppliers who have been assessed as having the technical, financial and managerial capability necessary to perform contracts on time and in accordance with agreed requirements. An RPQS does not generally include fixed pricing and therefore requires that Council undertake a further Request for Quotation process.
Standing Offer Arrangement (SOA): was a type of arrangement available under the previous Local Government Act. SOAs can no longer be established under the current Local Government Regulation 2012.
Alternatively, Local Buy has the legislative enablement (s.234 of the Local Government Regulation 2012) to establish an LGA Arrangement on behalf of Local Government Authorities who benefit from reduced procurement costs and shorter procurement timeframes as there is no need to tender to issue Requests for Tender. Suppliers also benefit by only having to respond once rather than individually to each council.
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Local Buy evaluates tenders using the combined expertise of our Category Managers and local government subject matter experts. We utilise a tender evaluation software product called APET360 Pro to assist in this process. Tenders are assessed against the evaluation criteria applicable to the relevant Request for Tender.
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Local Buy encourages organisations of any size to reply to a Local Buy Request for Tender. Queensland local governments have a legislative obligation to develop local businesses and we therefore strongly encourage small local businesses who would like to supply their goods and services to councils and government entities to participate in our contracts.
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Local Buy pre-qualified suppliers enjoy:
- A significant reduction in the number of tenders to respond to, thus savings in time and cost.
- Greater time to concentrate on performance and relationship management.
- Association with the well-known Local Buy brand.
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Councils and government entities that use Local Buy’s contracts eliminate the need to go through a full tender process and enjoy pricing benefits and savings that aggregated purchasing brings.
While councils and government entities are not legally bound to use Local Buy’s services, purchasers using Local Buy save significant time and money and are fully compliant with the Local Government Act 2009 as amended in their purchasing activities.
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Yes, we do have a privacy policy.