Electronic tendering option to help business

Roger with Michael Rogers, Director, and General Manager of Degree C, Ulverstone

Roger announces that by mid – November, all Government agencies will provide an option of electronic lodgement for all tenders and procurements

Tasmania’s 36,000 small businesses are the engine room of the State’s economy and employ more than 100,000 people. The Hodgman Liberal Government wants to grow that number by 10%, or 10,000 Tasmanian workers, by 2022.

One way to do this is to make it easier for Tasmanian businesses to bid for and win government contracts, and a re-elected majority Liberal Government will set a target of 90% of contracts going to Tasmanian-based companies by 2022.

Our Local Benefits Test is working, with 81% of government contracts now won by Tasmanian-based business – up from 63% when we came to office – but there is more work to do.

One of the issues raised by smaller businesses in regional areas is that some government tenders still require multiple paper copies of tender documents to be delivered to a tender box by a deadline.

This can be expensive and time-consuming, and disadvantages small businesses in regional areas that effectively have less time to prepare tenders and additional costs in delivering them compared to larger, city-based firms.

So, to help Tasmanian businesses even further, by mid-November this year, all Government agencies will provide an option of electronic lodgement for all tenders and procurements. This will reduce time and cost for businesses and create a more level playing field for smaller businesses and those in regional areas.

While this is a no-brainer for red tape reduction in the modern business environment, any business that still wishes to submit in hard copy will still be able to do so.

This is another great example of the Hodgman Liberal Government listening to Tasmanian businesses and reducing red tape so they can get on with growing our economy and employing more Tasmanians.