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Procurement complaints

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You can submit a complaint if you believe AFSA has breached the Commonwealth Procurement Rules (‘the CPRs’).

The Government Procurement (Judicial Review) Act 2018 (‘the Act’) protects suppliers or potential suppliers participating in a ‘covered’ procurement. The Act covers:

  • purchases of goods and/or services at or above $80,000 (GST inc)
  • purchases of construction services at or above $7.5 million (GST inc)

provided the purchase is not subject to an exemption stated in the Act.

The complaint process

You can submit your complaint to us and if you are not satisfied that our response resolves your complaint you can also apply to court for an injunction or compensation under the Act. If you intend to apply to court for an injunction or compensation, you do need to submit your complaint to us first. Your complaint must show how your interests have been affected by a breach of the CPRs.

When we receive your complaint we will:

  • send you an acknowledgment that we have received it
  • assess whether your complaint meets the criteria for us to take action under the Act
  • suspend the procurement (unless a Public Interest Certificate is in force or is issued)
  • investigate your complaint and resolve the issue as soon as possible
  • inform you of the anticipated timeframe to complete our investigation and respond.

When the investigation is complete, we will send you a report on the outcome (or a response if a report is not required). Our report may contain recommendations to remedy your complaint. We will request you confirm whether your complaint has been resolved satisfactorily. If you confirm you are satisfied, we will finalise the matter and lift any suspension of the procurement.

If you are not happy with the outcome described in our response, you can:

  • make an application to court
  • contact the Australian Government Procurement Coordinator or the Commonwealth Ombudsman.

You can read more about the complaints process and the CPRs in Resource Management Guide No. 422 which is available on the Department of Finance website.

How to submit a complaint

Send your complaint to servlegdoc@afsa.gov.au by email. Our delegate under the Act will receive your complaint at that address. Please include the following information in your complaint:

  • your name, supplier business name, ABN, address, phone and email
  • details to identify the procurement including the service, estimated contract value, relevant times and dates and AusTender ID
  • an outline of your complaint and the relevant CPRs which you believe were breached
  • the remedy that you are seeking, including any costs you incurred in preparing the tender and complaint
  • any documents or evidence which can support your complaint

You can also make a general complaint about procurements that are not covered under the Act. You can send your general complaint to AFSA’s Procurement team Procurement@afsa.gov.au.

You can also make further enquiries about additional complaint options at the following websites: