19 October 2018
The Government Procurement (Judicial Review) Act 2018 (Cth)
The Government Procurement (Judicial Review) Bill 2018 (Cth) was passed by the Parliament yesterday and received Royal Assent today. It is expected to commence operation in 6 months.
The Act will enable suppliers to seek an injunction or compensation for a contravention of 'relevant Commonwealth Procurement Rules (CPRs)' by a Commonwealth entity or official. The relevant CPRs will be the provisions in Division 2 as well as provisions in Division 1 of the CPRs which are declared to be relevant for the purposes of the Act. A number of Division 1 paragraphs are proposed to be declared.
The Act will only apply in relation to procurements where both Divisions 1 and 2 of the CPRs apply (unless it is in a class of procurements that has been exempted in a determination made by the Finance Minister under the Act). It will generally therefore apply where the estimated value of the procurement is at or above the relevant procurement threshold (as set out in the CPRs) and where it is not covered by the list of exemptions in Appendix A of the CPRs.
Further detail is contained in our earlier Express law about the Bill, available at: /publications/express-law/el257.pdf
The Department of Finance has indicated they will provide further guidance to entities prior to commencement.
Important: The material in Express law is provided to clients as an early, interim view for general information only, and further analysis on the matter may be prepared by AGS. The material should not be relied upon for the purpose of a particular matter. Please contact AGS before any action or decision is taken on the basis of any of the material in this message.
Contacts
Senior General Counsel
Counsel
Chief Counsel Commercial
Deputy General Counsel Commercial