THE Victorian Regional Chambers Alliance has expressed \u201cgrave concerns\u201d with changes made by the Department of Treasury and Finance to the State Government\u2019s purchasing board contracts policy.<\/p>\n
In a joint statement released last week, Be.Bendigo along with 15 other chambers of commerce from across regional Victoria said new rules in regards to procurement policy changes to the state purchase contracts mean regional suppliers will lose out on business if the reforms are implemented from 1 July.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis will impact 35 Government departments and 125 Victorian Government agencies who will now be mandated to use the SPC list of suppliers,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis will mean that regional businesses that are current suppliers will not be eligible until they go through a lengthy process to be included on the supplier list, it has been suggested that this could take up to 18 months.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe impact of this new policy change completely contradicts this Victorian Governments previous commitment to support local and regional businesses.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt also contradicts the Government\u2019s own programs such as GROW that were instigated to support and increase local procurement and jobs.<\/p>\n
\u201cCurrently there are no regional and or rural businesses included on this list.\u201d<\/p>\n
A government spokesperson said the changes were made for the benefit of all involved in procurement processes but did not address the timeframe claimed by the VRCA.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are many benefits to this reform including greater consistency in procurement policies, practices and oversight making Government procurement easier and more simple for both buyers and suppliers,\u201d the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n
\u201cState purchasing contracts currently include regional suppliers and regional suppliers have the opportunity to bid for these contracts through the tender process.<\/p>\n
\u201cRegional suppliers are encouraged to register on the Buying for Victoria supplier portal to view and respond to procurement opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
THE Victorian Regional Chambers Alliance has expressed \u201cgrave concerns\u201d with changes made by the Department of Treasury and Finance to the State Government\u2019s purchasing board contracts policy. In a joint statement released last week, Be.Bendigo along with 15 other chambers of commerce from across regional Victoria said new rules in regards to procurement policy changes […]<\/p>\n