Changes to Local Government Act
The recent amendments to the Local Government Act
insert a new section 186A that requires a council to pre-
pare and approve a procurement policy. A procurement
policy must include any prescribed matter and a council
must have regard to Ministerial Guidelines made under
the section when preparing its policy. A council must
review its procurement policy annually and make it avail-
able for public inspection. To assist councils establish or
refine their procurement policy, the MAV will be offering
workshops and details will be released shortly. Contact
Paula Giles, 9667 5562, pgiles@mav.asn.au
Electronic Tendering Deal Signed
The MAV has entered an arrangement with Tenderlink, a
leading supplier of electronic tendering systems, that
enables councils to establish an e-portal for conducting
tenders. Eight Victorian councils from metropolitan and
rural areas are currently using this system to manage
the procurement process (including advertisement, sup-
plier notification, tender forums lodgement and evalua-
tion) to reduce the operational time and cost involved.
Through the MAV arrangement, councils will be eligible
for a 10% rebate upon purchase of the portal and the
normal training costs will also be waived. For those
councils that do not generate the volume for their own
customised portal, access can be provided through the
MAV portal at a reduced rate. Contact Paula Giles, 9667
5562, pgiles@mav.asn.au
Library Materials RFP
The MAV, in partnership with Public Libraries Victoria
Network (formerly VicLink) and acting as agent for Victo-
rian councils, issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) for
library materials and shelf ready processing services for
a range of fiction, non-fiction and languages other than
English materials and received over 30 responses. The
Steering Committee is currently reviewing these and pre-
paring the RFT for release.
Request for Collaboration: Purchasing
System
Macedon Ranges Shire Council is seeking to enlist from