Late last year the SA Chapter prepared a joint response from the Institute and ACA to the SA Productivity Commission’s Inquiry into Government Procurement.  While the inquiry focused on procurement of goods and services and excluded capital works projects, the response highlighted that the same issues applied across all aspects of government procurement.  This position was supported by the Commissioner for Small Business and the SA Industry Advocate.

The response is available here.  We see this as the first stage of an ongoing conversation regarding government procurement, with a view to working with government to achieve best practice procurement practices.

This is one part of a raft of advocacy that the SA Chapter is engaged in, all of which relates to improving the procurement and contractual environment in which architectural services are delivered.  Other areas of advocacy include:

• A framework for staged services delivery to assist in determining realistic scope of services at each stage of a project.   This document was developed by the Practice Committee and has been issued to DPTI for review and comment.
• Guidelines to assist local government in procuring architectural services. The aim is to develop templates that will assist local government agencies in structuring tenders so that they better reflect the scale of the project, focus on information directly relevant to the project and reduce tender costs for all parties.  This project is the focus for the Practice Committee for the start of 2019.  Work being done at a national level will be used to inform and underpin this project.
• Working with DPTI on the review of the Lead Professional Services contract. The SA Chapter has provided commentary prepared regarding the previously proposed amendments to AS4122 to the current DPTI team tasked with preparing the new contract.  A draft is anticipated for review in late March 2019.
• A response to the Building Minister’s Forum (BMF) in relation to the Shergold Weir Report (SWR). The BMF has made no definite undertaking to implement the SWR recommendations, indicating only that it will consider a selection of recommendations at this time.  The Institute believes that this is inadequate given the magnitude of the issues identified by the SWR and the implications of failing to address the recommendations holistically.  We will continue to work on this at a national and Chapter level.
• Review of the Tendering Guidelines 5^th Edition . Released in June 2017, this document was jointly developed by the Institute, ACA and MBA.  It addresses current issues experienced by contractors and consultants and is intended to assist all parties, including clients and projects managers to understand best practice tender procedures and achieve improved tender outcomes. To give us your thoughts – click here

The SA Chapter will be asking for members to participate in these activities as they progress.  This may take the form of providing feedback, reviewing documents, or participating in committees and task groups.  Collectively, the Institute can make an impact and achieve improved outcomes for the profession and the construction sector.

Nicolette Di Lernia
SA Chapter Executive Director
18 February 2019