Guidance on occuPaTionaL HeaLTH and SaFeTY in GoVeRnMenT

PRINCIPLES
Principle 1: Consideration of OHS is inherent in the Commonwealth Procurement Guidelines (January
2005) – seeking value for money
The Commonwealth Procurement Guidelines describe procurement as encompassing,
“…the whole process of acquiring property and services. It begins when an agency has identified a
need and decided on its procurement requirement. Procurement continues through the processes of
risk assessment, seeking and evaluating alternative solutions, contract award, delivery of and payment
for property or services and, where relevant, the ongoing management of a contract and consideration
of options related to the contract. An integral part of the procurement cycle is the ongoing monitoring
and assessment of the procurement, including the property or services procured and the tasks related to
procurement”.
The core principle underlying the Commonwealth Procurement Guidelines is value for money. Value
for money does not mean that cheapest is best. In a procurement process this principle requires a
comparative analysis of all relevant costs and benefits of each proposal throughout the whole procurement
cycle (whole-of-life costing) including those associated with OHS.
The forward-looking approach of the Commonwealth Procurement Guidelines supports the safe design
concept inherent in this publication. Safe design requires ‘looking forward’ in order to consider hazards
through the life of the item, as well as ‘looking back’ to reveal past experiences that might inform current
decision making.
This document is to be read in conjunction with the Commonwealth Procurement Guidelines, agencyspecific
instructions and relevant OHS legislation, regulations and codes of practice. In some agencies,
the primary reference for those undertaking procurement is the chief executive instructions, which
should have been informed by, and give effect to, the Commonwealth Procurement Guidelines and this
document.
Principle 2: Governments are required to provide leadership in OHS because of their commitment to the
National Strategy (in particular Priority 5)
The aim of this principle is that governments should secure better OHS outcomes and be exemplars of
good practice through a range of approaches including:
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continual improvement in governments’ OHS performance as employers
whole-of-government approaches that ensure OHS implications are considered and accounted for in
the work of government
government influence of better practice OHS requirements made of the supply chain
practical guidance on measuring and reporting OHS outcomes for public sector agencies, and
continual improvement in governments’ performance as OHS policy makers and regulators.
The term property is used throughout the Commonwealth Procurement Guidelines to refer to “every type of right, interest or thing which
is legally capable of being owned. This includes, but is not restricted to, physical goods and real property as well as intangibles such as
intellectual property, contract options and goodwill”.
<strong>Guidance</strong> on OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY IN GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT