The Minns Labor Government will introduce a series of new measures to support NSW jobs and businesses and encourage the development of local industries, removing barriers to local growth.
These policy changes have the backing of workers and industry and will transform the way the government spends its precious procurement dollars on goods and services, with Minister for Domestic Manufacturing and Government Procurement Courtney Houssos instructing the NSW Procurement Board to axe the previous Liberal-National Government’s prohibitions on local content rules.
Those rules made it unlawful for NSW government agencies to seek, or even consider, local employment and business growth opportunities at any stage of the procurement process, harming local businesses at a time when they needed access to valuable procurement opportunities, with NSW government agencies now able to consider local content and local development opportunities when suppliers bid for government contracts.
Under this direction, the NSW Procurement Board will mandate that NSW Government agencies engage with local NSW suppliers before going to tender for projects worth more than $7.5 million, with agencies now needing to undergo a ‘please explain’ process prior to the contract being awarded, outlining why a local supplier was not successful.
