Thanks to Sunshine Coast Council’s “local preference” guidelines, local suppliers are reaping financial benefits.
Council has spent more than $180 million with local suppliers so far during the 2016/17 financial year, which represents approximately 72 per cent of Council’s total procurement spend and a significant increase on local spend as at the same time last financial year.
“Council introduced a Local Preference in Procurement Guideline in April last year to ensure local business and industry are the primary suppliers of goods and services to council,” said Corporate Strategy and Finance Portfolio Councillor Tim Dwyer.
“Key strategies were introduced to help businesses in our region win more work with council and these have been supported by initiatives and workshops to help provide local businesses with the tools they need to compete for council contracts, tenders and procurement activities.
“Along with helping local businesses, there are many other benefits to buying locally for council like saving time, money and transport.”
The Local Preference in Procurement Guideline has also been amended to better define when a supplier is considered local or will be deemed as local.
A Probity in Procurement Guideline has been introduced to outline steps council will take to create and maintain an effective probity environment and governance framework for the conduct of procurement and contracting.
