Committee on Government Procurement - Notification of domestic legislation relevant to the Agreement on Government Procurement 2012 - Notification from Australia

NOTIFICATION OF DOMESTIC LEGISLATION RELEVANT TO THE
AGREEMENT ON GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT 2012

NOTIFICATION FROM AUSTRALIA

The following notification, dated 20 November 2025, is being circulated at the request of the delegation of Australia.

 

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Notifying Party 

Australia

Legal Basis 

 Article XXII:5 of the GPA 2012
 Decision on notification requirements under Articles XIX and XXII:5 of the GPA 2012 (Annex A to Appendix 2 of GPA/113)

Title of the notified legal text

Commonwealth Procurement Rules (17 November 2025)

Link to legal text 

https://members.wto.org/crnattachments/2025/GPA/AUS/25_08104_00_e.pdf

https://members.wto.org/crnattachments/2025/GPA/AUS/25_08104_01_e.pdf

https://www.finance.gov.au/government/procurement/commonwealth-procurement-rules

Notification status 

 First notification
 Change, amendment or revision to notified legal text
 Replacement or consolidation of notified legal text(s)

Previous notification(s) referred to 

GPA/LEGIS/AUS/9Commonwealth Procurement Rules (1 July 2024)

Brief description of the notified legal text 

The Commonwealth Procurement Rules (CPRs) are the basic rule set for all procurements by the Australian Government and govern the way in which relevant entities undertake their procurements. Achieving value for money is the core rule of the CPRs as it is critical in ensuring that public resources are used in the most efficient, effective, ethical, and economic manner.

 

The CPRs have been updated once since Australia's last notification, with the latest version dated 17 November 2025. The changes to the CPRs include:

 

·_        Raising the threshold at which procurements must be conducted via open tender to AUD 125,000.

·_        A new requirement that certain Commonwealth entities only invite Australian and New Zealand businesses to tender for government contracts valued below AUD 125,000. For construction services, the requirement to prioritise Australian businesses extends to government contracts valued below AUD 7.5 million.

·_        A new requirement that certain Commonwealth entities first consider small and medium enterprises for procurements under AUD 125,000 from certain panel arrangements.

·_        Clarification that submissions and confidential information provided as part of tendering may be shared within the Commonwealth for compliance monitoring and other legitimate, non-commercial purposes.

·_        Clarification that value for money considerations include 'ethical conduct'.

·_        New provisions clarifying when and how negotiations with tenderers may be conducted.

Language(s) of notified legal text 

English

Date of adoption 

17 November 2025

Entry into force 

17 November 2025

Other information  

Agency or authority responsible 

Australian Government Department of Finance

 

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