60 Indigenous Townsville businesses added to Council supplier list
Date published: 13 January 2020
Sixty Indigenous businesses have had successful tender applications to become part of Townsville City Council’s Register of Pre-qualified Indigenous Suppliers.
The public tender for suppliers was made public at the Indigenous Supplier Panel on 31 August 2019, and was closed on 25 October.
Governance and Finance Committee Chairwoman, Councillor Verena Coombe, said being able to support local Indigenous businesses was important to Council.
“We are committed to engaging with Indigenous suppliers as part of our Council procurement process,” Cr Coombe said.
“In the August council meeting, Procurement Services presented a strategy to increase spend with Indigenous Suppliers by 3 per cent in the next five years.
“It’s great to see such a strong response to the tender. Out of all the suppliers, 87 per cent are local suppliers and the remaining 13 per cent have a branch presence in Townsville, where they employ locals.”
Cr Coombe said creating the Register of Pre-Qualified Indigenous Suppliers made it easier for Council to carry out procurement.
“Pre-qualifying suppliers through a tender makes sure that Council’s future engagements are streamlined,” she said.
“For all future engagements all that Council will have to do is carry out a request for quote process, which streamlines the process for both Council and suppliers. The process normally takes about six to eight months, and it will now take about three to four weeks.”
Cr Coombe said contracts would be refreshed on a six-monthly basis through a public tender process.
“This will ensure that new suppliers are captured and added to the panel for future opportunities,” she said.
