RESTRICTED  
  
GPA/ACC/AUS/6  
 
6 November 2015  
(15-5879)  Page: 1/3  
Committee on Government Procurement  Original: English  
 
ACCESSION OF AUSTRALIA TO THE AGREEMENT ON GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT 
REPLIES FROM AUSTRALIA TO QUESTIONS FROM HONG KONG, CHINA (GPA/ACC/AUS/3) 
REGARDING AUSTRALIA'S IN ITIAL APPENDIX I OFFER 
The following communication, dated 5 November 2015, is being circulated at the request of the 
Delegation of Australia.  
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RESPONSE TO COMMENTS FROM HONG KONG, CHINA REGARDING  
THE INITIAL OFFER OF AUSTRALIA 
Australia thanks Hong Kong, China for the submission of its request for clarifications on and 
improvements in Australia's initial offer to accede to the Agreement on Government Procurement 
(GPA), circulated on 25 September 2015. Australia provides the following responses to the questions circulated by Hong Kong, China. 
 
Annex 1 – Central Government Entities 
1. Hong Kong, China would like to understand the rationale behind the reservation 
under note 2 applicable to procurement by or on behalf of the Australian Government 
Solicitor. As Article III of the GPA already pr ovides for security and general exceptions, 
Hong Kong, China would also appreciate explan ation for the reservation under note 3(c) 
applicable to procurement of all goods and services by, or on behalf of, the Defence 
Intelligence Organisation, the Australian Signals Directorate, or the Australian 
Geospatial-Intelligence Organisation. 
On 1 July 2015 the Australian Government Solicitor was absorbed by the Attorney General's 
Department. The functions of the Australian Government Solicitor are not subject to the 
obligations of Australia's procurement framework and accordingly are unable to be offered in any 
trade agreements. 
 
Note 3 provides a list of goods and services required by the Australian Government to be excluded for the Department of Defence only. Australia is a large country and the Department of Defence works in unique and remote locations in Australia and externally to Australia. This list of exclusions 
reflects the operational requirements for working in these locations. Procurements made under an 
exemption must be documented and justified. Th ese exclusions are required by the Australian 
Government and are included in all of Australia's trade agreements. 
 
2. Australia reserves the right to maintain the "Australian industry capacity program 
and its successor programs and policies" under  note 3(d). Hong Kong, China would like 
to obtain clarifications regarding the nature  of these programs, and their relationships 
with national security. 
The Australian industry capability program aims to build capacity for Australian industry to 
participate in Defence procurement within Australia and overseas. The Australian industry 
capability program applies to complex procurements where value for money is still the prime 
consideration when determining whether defence capability is to be sourced from Australian or overseas suppliers. For further information on the Australian industry capability program please GPA/ACC/AUS/6 
 
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  refer to the Defence Procurement Policy manual available at 
http://www.defence.gov.au/dmo/doi ngbusiness/procuremen tdefence/policies/de fencepolicyprocur
ementmanual/ . 
 
Annex 2 – Sub-Central Government Entities 
3. Hong Kong, China notices that Australia's in itial offer is subject to reciprocity in 
relation to Annex 2 entities coverage. As Hong Kong, China has no Annex 2 entities, 
Hong Kong, China can neither offer any commit ment nor impose any restriction at this 
level. Hong Kong, China would appreciate clar ifications on this reciprocity arrangement. 
Each Australian state and territory has its own legislation and legislative structures (see page 1 of 
the Checklist). Australian states and territories see GPA as an important opportunity to expand 
international market access. They have asked the Commonwealth Government, which is 
negotiating on their behalf, to ensure that in o ffering Annex 2 entities, they receive reciprocal 
access to the government procurement markets of GPA Members. In offering its Annex 2 entities 
to GPA members that do not have Annex 2 entities, Australia would welcome the opportunity to 
work with those members to understand more about their procurement coverage and to relay the advice received to the states and territories to enable them to better assess the reciprocal 
coverage on offer. 
 4. It is noted that the Integrity Commission  in Tasmania is not included in the 
Annex 2. Hong Kong, China would welcome explanations for this exclusion. 
The omission of the Integrity Commission was intentional by the Government of Tasmania. The 
Integrity Commission, established in 2010 to improve the standard of conduct, propriety and ethics in the Tasmanian public sector, has not been offered by Tasmania in any trade agreements. 
 
5. The listing for Queensland refers to, on top of four named entities, section 14 of 
the Public Service Act 2008 (Qld), which points  to entities "declared to be a department 
of government" by Queensland Government Gazette. Hong Kong, China discerns from 
Queensland Government Gazette No. 51 dated 1 November 2013 that there are in total 
21 departments (pp. 34-35 of https://pu blications.qld.gov.au/storage/f/2013-11-
28T05%3A55%3A24.608Z/08-11-13-combined-gazette.pdf). Hong Kong, China would 
like to confirm if all such department s are therefore covered by Australia's 
commitments. 
Australia can confirm that this is the case. For an indicative list of entities covered for Queensland 
in the GPA, Hong Kong, China can refer to the list for Queensland provided under question 6 in the 
Checklist entry.  
Annex 3 – Other Entities 
6. Noting that telecommunications services are not featured in Annex 5 (Services), 
Hong Kong, China would suggest that Austra lia review whether the reservation under 
note 2 applicable to procurement of teleco mmunications services by the Australian War 
Memorial can be removed. 
The Australian Government requires this exclusion to be included for transparency and 
consistency. This note is included in all of Australia's trade agreements. 
 
Annex 7 – General Notes 
7. Hong Kong, China would be interested to know the rationale behind the 
reservation applicable to the procuremen t of motor vehicles under note 1(g). 
Australia produces motor vehicles and motor vehicle components domestically, and currently the 
Commonwealth procurement framework requires the Australian Government to purchase motor vehicles from Australian manufacturers (where th ey are operationally suitable and meet safety 
requirements). This note is included in all of Australia's trade agreements. This note is also 
required by Australia's sub-central governments who have similar policies. GPA/ACC/AUS/6 
 
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  8. Australia in note 4 provides that purchase of goods or services as a result of an 
"unsolicited innovative proposal" is not co nsidered a covered procurement. In this 
regard, Australia may wish to, for the sake  of clarity and transparency, consider 
adopting the model in New Zealand's offer, i.e. to refer to a government guidance 
document setting out how procuring entities  should respond to "Unsolicited Unique 
Proposals". 
Australia will take into consideration Hong Kong, China's suggestion regarding the use of 
"unsolicited innovative proposals". 
  
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