Local Buy Frequently Asked Questions

Local Buy was established by the Local Government Association of Queensland (LGAQ) to provide value added procurement services to councils and government entities by aggregating the purchasing power of local government.

A contract (LGA Arrangement) established by Local Buy, enables councils and other eligible entities to purchase goods and services from Local Buy contracted suppliers without having to undertake a separate procurement process. Local Buy is required by the Local Government Act 2009 to conduct an open tender process to establish these contracts.

To become a Local Buy supplier, you must successfully respond to a tender advertised by Local Buy.

Local Buy advertises all of their tenders in the Courier Mail Saturday edition (and where applicable the Cairns Post, Townsville Bulletin, Rockhampton Bulletin and Daily Mercury in Mackay), also on LinkedIn and lgtenderbox.com.au. Suppliers may register for free on LG Tender Box to receive email notification regarding any tenders that will be advertised.

LG tenderbox is a Local Buy initiative that has been established to provide a comprehensive online tendering system for councils and government entities. This system allows councils and government entities to publish and manage their tender process through an efficient online portal, while gaining maximum exposure to the supply market. You can view the site at lgtenderbox.com.au.

You can view current tenders by logging onto lgtenderbox.com.au and clicking on tenders/current. You must be registered and signed in to download tender documents or to participate in the tender forum.

The majority of Local Buy arrangements have a contract period of 24 months, with an option to extend for a period of up to 12 months. However, this will depend on the nature of the individual contacts. There may be some instances where the contract period will be anywhere from 12 months to 5 years. This will be identified in the contract terms and conditions in the tender documents issued by Local Buy.

The majority of Local Buy arrangements have a contract period of 24 months, with an option to extend for a period of up to 12 months. However, this will depend on the nature of the individual contacts. There may be some instances where the contract period will be anywhere from 12 months to 5 years. This will be identified in the contract terms and conditions in the tender documents issued by Local Buy.

Local Buy evaluates tenders using the combined expertise of our Category Managers and local government subject matter experts. We utilise a tender evaluation software product called APET360 Pro to assist in this process. Tenders are assessed against the evaluation criteria applicable to the relevant Request for Tender.

Local Buy encourages organisations of any size to reply to a Local Buy Request for Tender. Queensland local governments have a legislative obligation to develop local businesses, and we therefore strongly encourage small local businesses who would like to supply their goods and services to councils and government entities to participate in our contracts.

Local Buy pre-qualified suppliers enjoy:

• A significant reduction in the number of tenders to respond to, thus savings in time and cost.
• Greater time to concentrate on performance and relationship management.
• Association with the well-known Local Buy brand.
• Instant recognition within Local Councils

Councils and government entities that use Local Buy’s contracts eliminate the need to go through a full tender process and enjoy pricing benefits and savings that aggregated purchasing brings.

While councils and government entities are not legally bound to use Local Buy’s services, purchasers using Local Buy save significant time and money and are fully compliant with the Local Government Act 2009 as amended in their purchasing activities.

1. Read the documents carefully, They will give you all the information you need to complete your tender
2. Read each question carefully to determine your response fully answers the question
3. Respond fully to each question, Remember that the person assessing your response probably knows nothing about your company, its vital you don’t leave gaps in your answers.
4. The Tender response will take a reasonable amount of time, allow a few days, don’t leave it until the last minute!
5. Revisit your responses before submitting your tender, If you knew nothing about your company would you give your response a good score? (use a critic to check your work)
6. If you wish to attach capability statements or brochures within your tender response, cross-reference the pages that relate to the question.  Don’t expect evaluators to wade through multiple pages of an attachment hoping to find he section that relates to the question.
7. The Tender submission can only be assessed on the information that is provided in this tendering event.  Understand that in most situations multiple tender submissions are received and you should never ‘assume’ your previous performance as a supplier will be taken into account.
8. What is important to your Local Council? Do they want value for money for the taxpayer’s dollar!