56/2009
4 September 2009
The Australian Government has issued three separate open tenders for whole of government travel services, Minister for Finance and Deregulation, Lindsay Tanner announced today.
Lindsay Tanner said the tenders were part of the Rudd Government’s reform agenda for travel procurement.
“The Federal Commonwealth spends more than $500 million a year on travel services,” Lindsay Tanner said.
“Currently this is done in an extremely haphazard, inefficient manner. A scoping study undertaken by the Government suggests that through greater coordination and smarter purchasing we can save taxpayers millions of dollars every year.”
The approach to market for whole of government travel services is part of the Rudd Government’s agenda to improve the coordination of public sector procurement.
“Under the previous government, the federal public sector operated in a decentralised environment,” Lindsay Tanner.
“Individual agencies acted in isolation from one another when purchasing goods and services. The consequence of this was that the Commonwealth was not using its considerable purchasing power to secure value for money for taxpayers.”
“By aggregating the government’s demand for products and services, such as travel related services, we can achieve major savings and operational efficiencies.”
The Government is currently assessing a range of other products and services to determine their suitability for coordinated procurement.
The reforms to travel procurement include two key areas:
The Department of Finance and Deregulation has issued three separate open tenders on AusTender for Whole of Australian Government Travel Services. The open tenders are for whole of Australian Government travel management services, domestic air services and international air services.
All domestic and international travel service providers are encouraged to engage in the tender process as the contractual arrangements may not be re-tendered for another three to five years.
The Whole of Australian Government Travel Services Tenders are now open on: www.tenders.gov.au
The Rudd Government is revising the two current Australian Government air travel policies; use of best fare of the day for official air travel; and official air travel on the Canberra-Sydney route: 25 per cent minimum usage target for smaller airlines.
These policies will be replaced with one consolidated policy for domestic travel based on the Lowest Practical Fare. The new policy is aimed at increasing efficiencies in official travel through greater utilisation of smaller airlines and deeply discounted economy fares.
The Lowest Practical Fare is based on three core principles: necessity of travel, value for money and encouraging competition.
The Government’s policy on international travel will continue to encourage value for money outcomes, while ensuring that appropriate safety and security considerations are taken into account by officials when booking travel.
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| Media Contact: | Website: |
|---|---|
| Nardia Dazkiw - 0418 144 690 | www.financeminister.gov.au |
