Australian businesses redefined under procurement reforms

The Sovereign Australian Prime Alliance (SAPA) has expressed approval for recent reforms made by the Australian Government regarding the definition of an Australian business within the context of Commonwealth procurement rules.

The reforms, which were outlined by the government, redefine an Australian business as an entity that has 50% or more Australian ownership or is primarily traded on an Australian equities market. Furthermore, it must be an Australian resident for tax purposes and have its principal place of business in Australia.

SAPA, whose members include NIOA, DroneShield, Macquarie Technology Group, AUSTAL, and Gilmour Space, believes this change will enable the government to more accurately direct its policies pertaining to government procurement. The alliance highlighted the importance of such definitions in the development and implementation of industry policies, indicating that the lack of clear definitions previously led to potential policy failures.

"SAPA has always maintained that definitions are an essential building block when designing and implementing industry policies," the alliance stated. "When policies are developed without accurate definitions to guide them, policy failure is almost certain."

In addition to the definition change, SAPA welcomed the introduction of a new metric called Broader Economic Benefits in Procurement. This metric will be used in assessing government tenders by taking into consideration a broader range of weightings, priority outcomes, and contracting considerations.

"SAPA also welcomes the additional reform to Commonwealth Procurement Rules, introducing the Broader Economic Benefits in Procurement metric when making value judgements in government tendering," a SAPA spokesperson commented. "This reform will require future government procurement to consider a broader range of weightings, priority outcomes, and contracting considerations when assessing submissions for government contracts."

SAPA's involvement in the development of these reforms came through participation in the Ministerial Working Group alongside multiple industry peak bodies. The alliance is optimistic about continued collaboration with government departments as the reforms are implemented.

The alliance emphasised the collaborative efforts involved in reaching the reform agreement, giving credit to representatives from the Department of Finance, the Department of Industry, Science & Resources, and several key government ministers.

"We look forward to working with Commonwealth government departments as this new reform gets embedded in future procurement and tendering processes," SAPA officials stated. "We encourage state/territory governments to adopt this commonsense solution which has been led at the Federal level."

SAPA extended particular thanks to Senator for the ACT, David Pocock, praising his advocacy for the reform, alongside noting the collective efforts and commitment shown by various government departments and ministers involved in the process.