How to submit a tender

Submitting a tender, quotation or expression of interest has never been easier

Step 1 - Find and Review the Tender Advertisement

Council publishes all tenders online and in the local government section of Tuesday's Sydney Morning Herald, and in the Council notices section of Friday's Coastal Views and Saturday's Daily Examiner.

Step 2 - Obtain a Copy of the Tender Document

Electronic copies of all tender documents are available free of charge from Council's TenderLink e-tendering portal.

Hard copy tender documents (not preferred) are available at Council's Customer Service Offices at 2 Prince Street Grafton or 50 River Street Maclean, for the cost as published in the tender advertisement.

Step 3 - Decide Whether or Not You are Suitable for the Project

Read the tender document very carefully and familiarise yourself with any information provided to tenderers, the Conditions of Tendering, Conditions of Contract, Technical Specification and Drawings. Particular attention should be paid to the assessment criteria that Council will use to assess Tenders.

Step 4 - Understanding the Contracts and Conditions of Tender

If you are unsure about Council's proposed contract, either discuss it with the contact nominated in the tender advertisement or have the tender reviewed by your legal representative.

Step 5 - Completing Your Tender Form and Returnable Schedules

Once you have;

• registered on Council's Tenderlink portal, 
• provided all the necessary information requested in the Tender document,
• completed the returnable Tender Form and Tender Schedules 
• acknowledged receipt of any addenda to the tender documents issued during the tender period
• addressed all of the tender assessment criteria in your offer
• double checked your arithmetic

you are ready to lodge your tender.

Step 6 - Lodgement of Tender Documents

You must lodge your Tender electronically. You will need to first register on Council's TenderLink portal and then upload your Tender to the electronic Tender Box.

Tenders must be lodged no later than the closing date and time advised in the tender document. Late submissions will not be considered.

Adequate time must be allowed to upload documents electronically. There is an estimate on the TenderLink site of the time to be allowed by Tenderers to upload their tender documents.

Contact Tenderlink Customer Support on 1800 233 533 if you require assistance in navigating the Tenderlink website.

Step 7 - Review of all Submissions

Every submission will be reviewed by a tender evaluation panel. Whilst other criteria may be used which are more specific to each tender, the following criteria will be applied to all assessments:

• Whether the submission conforms to the requirements of the tender document and the Local Government (General) Regulation, Part 7 Tendering
• The Tenderer's financial capacity to undertake the work
• Experience and past performance
• Work health and safety management system
• Price

What Happens Next?

The assessment panel will examine all tenders received before the deadline for compliance with the tender document and the Local Government (General) Regulation.

Each tender is recorded, read in detail and examined. The receipt of all tenders, in alphabetical order, is publically notified on Council's website.

The strengths and weaknesses of each tender are assessed against the criteria, scored and weighted. You may be asked, by Council's financial assessors, to provide additional information to verify your financial capacity. Council will then consider all tenders and either accept the most advantageous tender, having regard to all the circumstances, or decline to accept any of the tenders.

You will be advised in writing whether your submission was successful or not once Council has considered all responses