Message from the Assistant Treasurer
All Victorians should have the opportunity to participate and contribute to our State’s growing economy. Government has an important responsibility to create the right conditions to enable this to happen.
As a major procurer delivering the high-quality public services and infrastructure needed for our thriving population, one of the Government’s major priorities is achieving value for money. But this doesn’t necessarily mean buying the cheapest option available.
Using its buying power, government can enter into procurement contracts that make a real difference to Victorians. Whether it be creating job opportunities or skills-based training in areas of disadvantage, addressing structural and systemic inequalities, or delivering environmental benefits for local communities, government procurement can add value that all Victorians can share in.
Victoria’s Social Procurement Framework clearly defines social and sustainable procurement as a key value-for-money component, and how it can make a difference to our communities. For buyers, the framework provides the guidance to embed social and sustainable procurement into existing processes. And for suppliers, the framework informs them of the methods to deliver Government objectives, while continuing to grow their business by participating in government procurement.
The framework applies to all of Victoria’s procurement activity and covers goods, services, and construction. It also builds on and complements other Government initiatives that support Victorians to realise their full potential. This includes Aboriginal businesses, social enterprises, people with disability, women and the long-term unemployed, as well as initiatives that address climate change.
The Victorian Government is not alone – social procurement initiatives are being developed and implemented at the national and international level – but our leadership is vital in demonstrating the value of putting social and sustainable outcomes at the centre of government procurement activity.
As the Minister responsible for government procurement in Victoria, I’m proud to launch this framework, and look forward to working with departments and agencies to ensure Victoria’s Social Procurement Framework delivers benefits for all Victorians.
Message from the Minister for Jobs, Innovation and Trade
Across Victoria, Government investment to deliver sustainable economic growth is creating new jobs and businesses and unlocking untapped potential across our diverse, ambitious population.
Victoria’s Social Procurement Framework presents another major step forward in our endeavours to work in deep partnership with industry in building a fairer economy from which all Victorians can benefit – one which is innovative, inclusive and adaptive to change.
The framework sets out our objectives for leveraging maximum value from the Victorian Government’s significant buying power, bolstered by our ongoing investment in infrastructure and future industries. The framework will achieve this by increasing job opportunities for under-represented groups and providing greater support for businesses that prioritise social impact alongside the delivery of competitively priced, high-quality construction projects, goods and services.
Earlier this year, we published the Victorian Social Enterprise Strategy in which we set out our vision for a mature and growing social enterprise sector across the State. Social enterprises are already worth $5.34 billion to the Victorian economy, while providing vulnerable groups with greater access to employment and creating innovative solutions to complex social, economic and environmental problems. This framework is a demonstration of our ambition to support and super-charge the sector’s growth.
In addition to increasing market access for social enterprises, the framework is designed to increase contracting opportunities for Aboriginal businesses (a key ambition of Tharamba Bugheen – Victorian Aboriginal Business Strategy) and for businesses based in targeted regional areas. The framework also ensures government suppliers support the major progress already made through the Government’s Jobs Victoria strategy to prioritise the creation of employment opportunities for those Victorians who are often under-represented in our workforce, including people with disability and young people at risk of long-term unemployment.
The ongoing support of businesses, large and small, is crucial to achieving the aims identified in the framework. We recognise Government’s responsibility to grow and retain this support by reducing red tape and making our systems and reporting requirements as streamlined and consistent as possible for suppliers and contractors. The framework provides the strong policy foundation we need while building on existing Government procurement initiatives, such as the Major Projects Skills Guarantee and Local Jobs First – Victorian Industry Participation Policy. We will continue to work closely with industry as we develop further guidance and implement the framework in 2018.
It is a privilege to launch Victoria’s Social Procurement Framework as Victoria continues to demonstrate its strong leadership and progress in growing an economy that is stronger, more productive and works for all.
Tools and support
This content on this page is taken from Victoria’s Social Procurement Framework. Access a pdf version in the social procurement document library.
For more information about social procurement, please contact the Social Procurement team.
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