TREASURER’S INSTRUCTION 18  
PROCUREMENT  
Issued: 29 June 2021  
Effective: 1 July 2021  
 
Application  
18.1 Subject to clause  18.2, these Treasurer’s instruction s apply to all public authorities  
and procurements by public authorities .  
Note  
Advice on the application and operation of these Treasurer's instructions may be 
obtained by contacting the Department of Treasury and Finance. Specific contact 
details for obtaining advice that relates to a particular part of these instructions are 
included on the Department's website www.treasury.sa.gov.au .  
18.2 These instruction s do not apply to:  
18.2.1  The University of Adelaide; or  
18.2.2  Flinders University; or  
18.2.3  the University of South Australia; or  
18.2.4  any other public authority exempted by the Treasurer  under Treasurer’s 
Instruction 1 – Interpretation and Application .  
18.3 Where a public authority undertakes procurements in accordance with an 
emergency procurement policy approved by the Treasurer, the public authority  will 
be taken to be compliant with th ese instruction s.   
Commencement  
18.4 These instruction s will commence on 1 July 2021 .  
Object  
18.5 The objects of th ese instruction s are to:  
18.5.1  Promote good governance, contract management, transparency and 
record keeping by public authorities in the course of  planning and 
undertaking procurements which create liabilities or potential liabilities for 
expenditure by public authorities; and  
18.5.2  Promote compliance with whole -of-government procurement policies; and 
18.5.3  Provide for reporting to the Department of Treasury a nd Finance about 
procurement s by public authorities; and  
18.5.4  Make Chief Executives of public authorities responsible for procurement s 
by the public authority and for determining agency -specific procurement 
arrangements .   
Interpretation  
18.6 Terms defined in the Public Finance and Audit Act 1987  and used in these 
instruction s will have the same meaning in these instruction s as they have in the 
Act. 
18.7 In these instruction s, unless the contrary intention appears:   
 18.7.1  Acquisition plan means a document that outlines the procurement 
methodology and sourcing strategy to be undertaken in a proposed 
procurement, prepared in accordance with the Procurement Planning 
Policy.  
18.7.2  Approach the market  means the formal process of notifying one or more 
potential suppli ers of a procurement opportunity and inviting them to 
submit a response, quote , proposal  or offer.  
18.7.3  Construction project is a project that primarily involves the procurement 
of a construction work; and  
(a) includes:  
(i)  the acquisition and installation of fixtures, plant, equipment, 
appliances and fittings in conjunction with the construction 
work; and  
(ii)  the acquisition of survey, planning, design and other services in 
conjunction with the construction work; but  
(b) does not include the acquisition of goods and services for the 
ongoing maintenance of a building or structure.  
18.7.4  Construction work  means:  
(a) building work  (which has the same meaning as in the Building Work 
Contractors Act 1995 ); or 
(b) the whole or part of the work of excavating or filling of land not 
constituting building work.  
18.7.5  Contract Management Policy means the polic y by that name approved 
by the Treasurer and administered by Procurement Services SA, 
establishing the requirements for effective contract managemen t.  
18.7.6  Direct market approach  means a sourcing strategy for a procurement 
where only one supplier is invited to submit an offer ;  
18.7.7  Expenditure  means any outflow from the resources of a public authority 
and may include such things as the payment of money , the transfer of 
assets, the provision of services, the replacement of an obligation with 
another obligation, or the conversion of an obligation to equity.  
18.7.8  Procurement Activity and Reporting System or PARS means the 
software platforms and associated systems and databases administered 
by Procurement Services SA for the collection, analysis and disclosure of 
data relating to procurement  by public au thorities .  
18.7.9  Procurement  has the meaning set out in clause 18.8 of these 
instruction s.  
18.7.10  Procurement Governance Policy  means the policy by that name 
approved by the Treasurer and administered by Procurement Services 
SA, establishing the governance  requireme nts applying to procurement 
by public authorities.  
18.7.11  Procurement Planning Policy means the policy by that name approved 
by the Treasurer and administered by Procurement Services SA, 
establishing the requirements for planning  procurement s.   
18.7.12  Procure ment Services SA means the business unit within the 
Department of Treasury and Finance responsible for across -government 
procurements , strategic advice to government relating to procurement,  
 and administering  the procurement policies and guidelines applica ble to 
public authorities.  
18.7.13  Sourcing Policy  means the policy by that name approved by the 
Treasurer and administered by Procurement Services SA, establishing 
the requirements for approaching the market, evaluating tenders, 
awarding  contracts and undertakin g post -sourcing reviews.  
Meaning  of procurement  
18.8 In these instruction s, procurement  means  the process undertaken by a public 
authority:  
18.8.1  of acquiring goods or services for the public authority, including the 
acquisition of goods or services on behalf of another public authority or 
third party (including members of the public) ; or 
18.8.2  for a construction project ; or  
18.8.3  for disposing of goods,  
which involves expenditure by a public authority , and does not include the matters 
set out in clause 18.9.   
18.9 These instruction s do not apply to:  
18.9.1  the provision of funding to a third p arty by a public authority that is a grant 
under Treasurer’s Instruction 15; or  
18.9.2  the engagement of a le gal practitioner to provide legal services ;1 or 
18.9.3  purchase of real property; or  
18.9.4  any activity or class of activities determined by the Treasurer to not be a 
procurement for the purposes of this clause , and set out  in the Schedule.   
Determining the value of a procurement  
18.10  The value of a procurement for the purposes of th ese instruction s is to be 
determined by reference to the budget required by the public authority to meet the 
estimated total value of any expenditure commitments that may directly result from 
the proposed procurement , and is GST inclusive .  
Public authorities must have a  procurement f ramework   
18.11  The Chief Executive of a public authority must ensure that:  
18.11.1  a robust and transparent  procurement framework  for the public authority , 
prepared in accordance with the Procurement Governance Policy,  is 
developed, documented, implemented and maintained; and  
18.11.2  an internal  review of the suitability of the public authority’s procurement 
framework is conducted at least once in each financial year of the public 
authority ; and  
18.11.3  systems, processes  and procedures are put in place to maximise 
compliance with the Procurement Governance Policy, the Procurement 
Planning Policy, the Sourcing Policy and the Contract Management 
Policy .  
Alignment of public authorities  
 
1 Note:  Public authorities must comply with Treasurer’s Instruction 10 in relation to the engagement of 
legal practitioners.    
 18.12  A Chief Executive of a public authority (“Aligned Public Authority ”) may agree in 
writing with the Chief Executive of another public authority (“Host Public 
Authority ”) to use the procurement framework of the Host Public Authority.   
18.13  Where two public autho rities become aligned under clause 18.12  of these 
instruction s: 
18.13.1  the Chief Executive of the Aligned Public Authority :  
(a) must notify Procurement Services SA of the agreement  within 60 
calendar days of the alignment agreement ; and  
(b) will be taken to comply with the Chief Executive’s obligations under 
clause s 18.11 , 18.28.1  and 18.28.2  of these instruction s; and 
18.13.2  a procurement for the Align ed Public Authority can be undertaken by 
either the Aligned Public Authority or the Host Public Authority; and 
18.13.3  provision of information to Procurement Services SA through the PARS 
for the purposes of clauses 18.16 , 18.17 , 18.19  and 18.20  can be 
undertaken by either the Aligned Public Authority or the Host Public 
Authority;  
18.13.4  an ac quisition plan for a procurement for the Aligned Public Authority can 
be approved and certified for the purposes of clause s 18.22.2  and 
18.22.3  of these instructions by the Chief Executive or a person 
authorised by the Chief Executive of either the Align ed Public Authority or 
Host Public Authority ; and 
18.13.5  an approval for the purposes of clause 18.25  of these instructions may be 
given by the Chief Executive of either the Aligned Public Authority or the 
Host Public Authority.  
18.14  The agreement in writing between the Chief Executives under clause 18.12  must 
detail the respective responsibilities of each public authority in relation to 
procurements for the Aligned Public Authority , including  responsibilities for:  
18.14.1  the provision of information to Procurement Services SA through the 
PARS for the purposes o f clause s 18.16, 18.17 , 18.19  and 18.20 ; and  
18.14.2  acquisition plans  and approvals  for the purposes of clauses 
18.13.2 18.22.2 , 18.22.3  and 18.25 ; and  
18.14.3  undertaking of procurements of the Aligned Public Authority;  
18.14.4  keeping and maintaining the departure register under clause 18.26.2 .  
18.15  Subject to clause 18.13 , an alignment under clause 18.12  does not relieve the 
Aligned Public Authority or its Chief Executive from the obligations contained in 
these instr uctions.  
Procurement reporting  
18.16  By 1 July of each calendar year, public authorities must provide to Procureme nt 
Services SA through the PARS :  
18.16.1  A description of a ll existing contracted expenditure as a result of  a 
previous procurement above  $55,000 ; and   
18.16.2  A description of all known forecast procurements above  $55,000 ,  
for the next 24 month period.  
Note   
 For the avoidance of doubt, this clause extends to all forecast procurements above  
$55,000, which includes any  amount above  $550,000 . 
18.17  Public authorities must use their best endeavours to ensure that the forecast 
procurements of the public authorities reported in PARS remain accurate and up -to-
date, including by updating the information in PARS when a forecast procurement 
or new procureme nt is confirmed.   
18.18  Public authorities must p rovide the information required under clauses 18.16  and 
18.17  of these instruction s in the manner and form required by Procurement 
Services SA.  
Procureme nt reporting where Chief Executive approval required  
18.19  By 1 July of each calendar year, the Chief Executive of the public authority must 
identify forecast procurements of the public authority above  $550,000 for the next 
12 month period, and ensure that those procurements are accurately reported to 
Procurement Services SA through the PARS.   
18.20  The Chief Executive of the public authority must approve the submission by the 
public authority of any confirm ed procurement above $550,000 to the PARS under 
clause s 18.16  and 18.17  of these instruction s for the first time or to update the 
status of the procurement from forecast to confirmed.  
18.21  The Chief Executive must not authorise another person  on behalf of the Chief 
Executive  to discharge the obligations of the Chief Executive under clauses 18.19  
and 18.20  of these instruction s.  
Note 
This may be a Chief Executive of a Host Public Authority in the case of an alignment 
of public authorities under clause 18.17.  
Approval  to approach the market  
18.22  A person must not approach the market, or cau se an approach to the market  for 
any procurement above $55,000  unless : 
18.22.1  The procurement has been reported to Procurement Services SA through 
the PARS in accordance with clauses 18.16  to 18.20 ; and  
18.22.2  An acquisition plan  for the procurement has been approved by either the 
Chief Executi ve of the public authority  or a person  acting under an 
authorisation under clause  18.24  (up to the l imit identified in the 
authorisation); and  
18.22.3  The person approving the acquisition plan  under 18.22.2  certifies  that the 
Procurement Planning Policy has been complied with, or that any 
departures from the Procurement Planning Policy have been sufficiently 
detailed in the acquisition plan.  
18.23  A person must not take any action to divide  a procurement to avoid approval 
thresholds .  
Authority  to approve acquisition plans  
18.24  Subject to clause 18.25 , the Chief Executive of a public authority may authorise a 
person  or the holder of a specified position to approve acquisition plans with such 
monetary limits and other conditions as the Chief Executive thinks fit, provided that 
the authorisation is by instr ument in writing and details any limits and conditions  
imposed on the authorisation.   
18.25  Only a Chief Executive can approve an acquisition plan for a procurement above 
$550,000 that involves a direct  market approach.   
 Note 
This may be a Chief Executive of a Host Public Authority in the case of an alignment 
of public authorities under clause 18.14 .  
Registers   
18.26  The Chief Executive of a public authority must ensure that the following registers 
are maintained:  
18.26.1  An authorisation  register  that sets out:  
18.26.1.1  The persons , or the holders of specif ied positions, who are 
authorised under clause 18.24 ; and  
18.26.1.2  The particulars of any limits, and any conditions, that apply in 
relation to each  such person  or position .  
Note  
This register does not need to be stand -alone and can, for example, be kept 
together with or form part of the schedule of authorisations granted under  
the provisions of Treasurer’s Instruction 8 .  
18.26.2  A departure  register that sets out:  
18.26.2.1  All procurements above  $55,000 where there has been a 
departure from the Sourcing Policy or the Procurement 
Plann ing Policy; and  
18.26.2.2  The particulars of and reasons for those departures.  
Note s 
This responsibility  may be discharged by a Chief Executive of a Ho st Public 
Authority in the case of an alignment of public authorities under clause 
18.14 .  
This register does not need to be stand -alone and can, for example, be kept 
through reporting all relevant departure information into the PARS.  
18.27  The Chief Executive of a public authority must  make the registers required by 
clause 18.26  available to Procurement Services SA on request.  
Additional responsibilities of Chief Executive s 
18.28  The Chief Executive of a public authority must ensure  that:  
18.28.1  responsibility for the procurement framework , and its operation and 
performance outcomes, is documented and assigned to appropriate 
senior officers; and  
18.28.2  appropriate resources are allocated to develop, impl ement and maintain 
the public authority’s procurement framework ; and  
18.28.3  any non -compliance with these instruction s is documented and 
addressed in a reasonable manner and within a reasonable time; and  
18.28.4  any failure to comply with the requirements of the procurement framework 
of the public authority is dealt with appropriately; and  
18.28.5  appropriate mechanisms to ensure that the C hief Executive is informed 
about all relevant procurement compliance  and governance  matters  are 
established and maintained ; and   
 18.28.6  appropriate resources are allocated to maintain procurement capacity 
and capability and that appropriate resources are applied to complex or 
strategic ( high risk ) procurements; and  
18.28.7  appropriate procurement and contract management information 
management systems are deployed and maintained within the public 
authority.  
Transitional provisions  
18.29  For the purpose  of these transitional provisions : 
18.29.1  A Tier 1, Tier 2 or Tier 3 public authority  means a publi c authority with 
that tier of procurement authority granted by the State Procurement 
Board under policies made under the repealed State Procurement Act 
2004  immediately prior to the commencement of the State Procurement 
Repeal Act 2020 .   
18.29.2  A prescribed public authority  means those public authorities classified 
as prescribed public authorities under the State Procurement Act 2004 
immediately prior to the commencement of the State Procurement Repeal 
Act 2020 . 
 Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3 public au thorities  
18.30  A procurement that has commenced but not completed prior to the commencement 
of these instructions that would have, immediately prior to the  commencement of 
the State Procurement Repeal Act 2020 , required approval by the State 
Procurement Board o r delegate of the State Procurement Board, may be approved 
by the Chief Executive of the Tier 1, Tier 2 or Tier 3 public authority.  
18.31  If an acquisition plan for a procurement  by a Tier 1, Tier 2 or Tier 3 public authority  
above $55,000 was approved prior to 1 July 202 1, the process for completing that 
procurement can continue as if it were a procurement conducted under the 
procurement regime that applied to the Tier 1, Tier 2 or Tier 3 public authority 
immediately prior to  1 July 202 1. 
18.32  For the 2021 calendar year only, Tier 1 , Tier 2 or Tier 3 public authorit ies must , on 
or before 1 September 2021,  provide to Procureme nt Services SA through the 
PARS :  
18.32.1  A description of all existing contracted expenditure as a result of a 
previous procurement above  $55,000; and   
18.32.2  A description of all known forecast procurements above  $55,000 ,  
for the next 24 month period.  
Note  
For the avoidance of doubt, this clause extends to all forecast procurements above  
$55,000, which includes any amount above  $550,000 . 
18.33  For the 2021 calendar year only, the Chief Executive of the Tier 1 , Tier 2 or Tier 3 
public authority must , on or before 1 September 2021, identify forecast 
procurements of the public authority above  $550,000 for the next 12 month period, 
and ensure that those procurements are accurately reported to Procurement 
Services SA through the PARS.   
18.34  Between 1 July 20 21 and 1 September 2021, clause 18.22.1  does not apply to Tier 
1, Tier 2 and Tier 3 public authorities.  
18.35  Subject to clause s 18.32  to 18.34 , Tier 1 , Tier 2 and Tier 3 public authorities  must 
otherwise comply with these instruction s.   
 Note  
For the avoidance of doubt, the requirements in clause s 18.32   and 18.33   are 
substitute d for the reporting obligations of public authorities in clauses 18.16  and 
18.19  for the 2021 calendar year.  
Prescribed public authorities  
18.36  From the commencement of th ese instruction s until 1 July 2022, prescribed public 
authorities  are exempt from the application of th ese instruction s. 
18.37  If an acquisition plan for a procurement  by a prescribed public authority  above 
$55,000 was approved prior to 1 July 2022 , the process for completing t hat 
procurement can continue as if it were a procurement conducted under the 
procurement regime that applied to the prescribed public authority immediately prior 
to 1 July 2022 .  
  
 SCHEDULE  
 
1. For the purposes of clause 18.9.4 , a construction project (as defined in th ese 
instruction s) above $165,000 is not a procurement covered by th ese instruction s.