Professional advisory services contract

This panel has moved to Digital Marketplace.

Buyers who need access should create a Digital Marketplace account.

Please note that not all approved suppliers will be available on the Professional advisory services panel on 1 September. Suppliers will be progressively onboarded during September.

Buyers wishing to confirm if a particular supplier is awaiting to be transitioned can email the project team at: pas.tender@dgs.vic.gov.au.

Contract details

This panel offers professional advisory services including commercial, tax, financial and probity advice.

Lead agency: Department of Government Services

Conditions of use: Mandatory

Contract reference number: GP-12-2024

Arrangement type: Panel

Start date: 1 September 2025

End date: 31 August 2028

What’s covered?

This panel covers these main areas of professional advisory services:

Commercial and Financial Advisory Services (CAFAS)

CAFAS CA-1: strategic policy review, reform, and project development (including service need analysis, service planning, feasibility studies and strategic assessments)
CAFAS CA-2: business case preparation and deployment
CAFAS CA-3: market engagement and implementation
CAFAS CA-4: commercial contract management
CAFAS CA-5: project, program, and business review, evaluation, and assurance (including business reorganisation reviews)
CAFAS CA-6: economic advisory services
CAFAS CA-7: auditing and investigation
CAFAS CA-8: general commercial advice including commercial negotiations

Tax Advisory Services (TAS)

TAS TA-1: GST and luxury car tax
TAS TA-2: employment taxes including fringe benefits tax (FBT) and pay as you go (PAYG)
TAS TA-3: state taxes including payroll tax, stamp duty, land tax and congestion levy
TAS TA-4: superannuation guarantee
TAS TA-5: national tax equivalents regime (NTER), income and corporate tax
TAS TA-6: excise including fuel tax credits scheme (FTCS) and customs duty
TAS TA-7: international taxes
TAS TA-8: other advice including petroleum resources rental tax and film concessions

Financial Assessment Services (FAS)

FAS FA-1: pre-qualification assessment
FAS FA-2: tender assessment
FAS FA-3: monitoring specific contracts in progress
FAS FA-4: ad hoc - specialised assessment

Probity Services

Probity PR-1: probity advisory services
Probity PR-2: probity auditing services

What's not covered

This contract does not cover advice for the following services:

Information Technology - use the eServices register
Engineering - refer to public construction procurement
Architecture - refer to public construction procurement

Using this contract

All Victorian Government departments and agencies are eligible to use this contract.

Find out who can use state purchase contracts.

This contract provides:

a consistent approach to professional advisory service engagements
pre-negotiated terms and conditions
simplified purchase order process to engage suppliers
access to qualified advice across a range of services
access to a mix of suppliers, including:
- small to medium enterprises
- large corporates

How to buy

The process to access this panel has changed.

Buyers will need to register for a Digital Marketplace account and then request access to the Professional advisory services panel.

New buyers must request access to the Digital Marketplace platform to view confidential information.

By registering with the Digital Marketplace platform, buyers agree to the Professional advisory services panel’s terms of use. Term of use are located within the Digital Marketplace.

Digital Marketplace

A platform where government can buy goods and services from businesses.

Read the user guide for important information about this contract.
The Professional advisory services state purchase contract user guide is located within the Digital Marketplace.
Review the administrative guidelines on engaging professional services. The guidelines contain updated decision-making and approval requirements for labour hire and professional services use.
Administrative Guidelines on engaging Professional Services in the VPS
Download the request for quote template from the confidential documents section in Digital Marketplace and complete it. This must be attached to all Professional advisory service requests in Digital Marketplace.
Log in to the Digital Marketplace to create and issue a request for quote. Buyers must have access to the Professional advisory services contract first.
For complex or high-value services, consider requesting quotations from a wider range of service providers.
More information on assessing the complexity and capability of a service is available at Complexity and capability assessment policy and guides.
Buyers should:
- define the scope of work
- develop evaluation criteria to evaluate offers
- seek a cost breakdown of the total fees proposed.
The evaluation criteria must describe:
- how each supplier will be evaluated
- how those criteria are ranked in order of relevance.
To better evaluate value for money, the evaluations should have both:
- qualitative evaluation criteria
- quantitative evaluation criteria.
The following policy applies to quotations made under this panel:
- Social Procurement Framework
Ensure that the requirements of these policies are included in the request for quote and the evaluation criteria.
Issue the request for quote in Digital Marketplace
When the evaluation period closes, log in to Digital Marketplace to review the offers submitted.
Evaluate each offer based on the evaluation criteria outlined in the request for quote document. Buyers must conduct the evaluation offline.
Select a supplier based on a value for money assessment.
Rates listed in Digital Marketplace are ceiling rates. Buyers should:
- verify that quoted rates are not higher than the ceiling rate
- negotiate lower rates.
If a fixed fee is offered, buyers will need to request a breakdown from suppliers to assess if the offer is cost efficient.
Extract copies of the following documents and files from the Digital Marketplace in accordance with records management policies:
- request for quote
- supplier questions and clarifications issued, if any
- all offer documents received from the supplier.
Complete a purchase order using the Professional advisory services purchase order template. The template is available in the Digital Marketplace.
Finalise the request for quote on the Digital Marketplace. Make sure the successful supplier is awarded in the Digital Marketplace.
Inform all unsuccessful suppliers and provide feedback on how they can improve for next time.
More information is available in the supplier feedback guide.
Manage the agreement following local Agency guidelines and refer to the Professional advisory services user guide.
Payments
Check invoices to ensure all the details are correct. Verify the costs against what was agreed in the Professional advisory service purchase order.
Once verified, all invoices must be paid within the timeframe agreed in the Purchase Order.
Disputes
Buyers must resolve and manage disputes. Review resolution processes outlined in Clause 33 of the contract to assist.
Buyers must inform the category manager of any dispute.
Evaluate performance
Help to improve this contract and complete the survey.
Answers are confidential. Buyers are encouraged to provide open and honest feedback.
The survey will take around 5 minutes to complete.
Take the survey
Exemptions
Exemptions from using this contract may be permitted on a case-by-case basis.
See the Professional advisory services user guide (Section 3, exemption process) for more information.

Local Agency contract managers

Suppliers may have to register on the Victorian Register of Lobbyists(opens in a new window).

Updated 1 September 2025