The Government has released the fourth edition of the Government Procurement Rules. These will come into force on 1 October 2019.

The latest edition has been developed to align with the Government’s expectations that procurement will be leveraged to achieve Broader Outcomes, General Manager of New Zealand Procurement and Property, John Ivil, says.

“Earlier this year we went to stakeholders to ask for their views on proposed changes to the Rules.  We have 130 mandated agencies which must use them when they procure goods and services, but over 2,000 other government agencies that refer to, or we encourage them to use, the Rules.”

“Collectively government agencies buy approximately $41 billion each year worth of goods and services from third-party suppliers and providers.  The potential to leverage this spend to achieve broader social environmental and economic outcomes is significant and the views of agencies and the views of the huge range of suppliers and providers is valuable.”

“These changes reflect Government’s decision to prioritise a set of outcomes for agencies to leverage from procurement – achieving greater collective impact, and we were keen to hear stakeholder’s thoughts before finalising the next edition.” says Mr Ivil.

Changes made in the 4th Edition

Changes to the 4th Edition of the Government Procurement Rules include:

A transformation in the way public value is assessed and calculated with a wider view towards the Broader Outcomes that can be achieved through procurement (Rules 16 to 20).

A set of changes to construction procurement (Rules 18, 64 and 69).

New Rules around procurement capability (Rules 70 and 71), reporting (Rule 53) and planning (Rule 15).

The removal of outdated Rules (Extended Procurement Forecasts and Registered Suppliers Lists and amending requirements relating to Significant Procurement Plans).

Amending the construction threshold to $9 million and reviewing the thresholds annually.