Progressive Procurement Yields Results

Last year, we shared the results of the landmark Aboriginal Procurement policy (APP), first introduced by Western Australia’s Premier, Mark MacGowan in 2018. The objective of the policy was to improve outcomes for Aboriginal businesses in the state, with targeted measures to increase contract awards, and therefore, economic benefit to the community.

The Aboriginal Procurement Policy Third Year Performance Report shows the proportion of Western Australian Government contracts awarded to Aboriginal businesses has grown for the third year in a row.

The APP policy mandates progressive targets for the award of contracts to Aboriginal businesses, The 2020-21 financial year target was 3%, seeking to challenge WA Government agencies’ buying behaviours. By the end of the 2020-21 financial year, the WA Government had actually awarded 6.5 % of its contracts to Aboriginal businesses.

Since its introduction in July 2018, the policy has awarded 697 contracts to 209 Aboriginal businesses, with a combined value of more than $476 million.

This recent period demonstrates a further increase in the number of contracts awarded to Aboriginal businesses and contract values. Of the 284 contracts awarded throughout WA, 217 contracts are valued at more than $100,000 (76%).

The APP sets a solid foundation for expansion into employment and subcontracting targets, which came into effect at the start of 2022, and the programme’s success provides clear evidence of the social and community value of targeted & transparent procurement policy.

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