Victorian Government infrastructure policy reforms An Nguyen Executive Director and Head of Partnerships Victoria – Infrastructure Delivery Group, Victorian Department of Treasury and Finance
Coordinated Procurement Reviews To make the most of the unprecedented investment in infrastructure in Victoria and across the eastern seaboard, DTF has partnered with New South Wales Treasury and the Victorian Major Transport Infrastructure Authority to reform procurement policies. The reforms will reflect market developments, industry feedback, international best practice and lessons learned. Priority reforms for 2021-22 include: • enhancing the Partnerships Victoria Framework to reflect learnings from recent projects and industry feedback to deliver enhanced outcomes for further investment in PPPs • updating the Government’s standard form contracts to generate time savings and efficiencies during tendering to meet the demand of the infrastructure pipeline • developing guidance for projects delivered through collaborative contracting models to provide a consistent baseline for these models in the same way that PPPs have benefited from a standardised framework
Victoria has been a leader in major infrastructure procurement and has an impressive track record of successfully delivering large and complex infrastructure projects through innovative procurement approaches, especially Public Private Partnerships (PPPs). The Government’s robust procurement policies and frameworks, including the Partnerships Victoria Framework for PPPs, have been key factors for Victoria’s success. These frameworks and policies support project and service delivery outcomes by ensuring that there is a principles-based approach to selecting a suitable procurement approach for each project based on its characteristics, risks and prevailing market conditions. The right procurement approach has proven to be a powerful driver of innovative outcomes and value to the State. The Victorian Government recognises that procurement approaches will evolve to reflect changes in the Government’s objectives, priorities, industry capacity and market circumstances. That is why, the Victorian Department of Treasury and Finance (DTF) is implementing a suite of reforms to optimise the way infrastructure projects are planned, procured and delivered to meet the Government’s requirements. DTF will continue to work closely with relevant government and industry stakeholders to ensure these reforms are fit for purpose and welcomes a dialogue with stakeholders interested in DTF’s policy reform program. PA R TN E R S H IP S 2 0 2 1
• releasing a newly updated Market-led Proposals Guideline to improve the way in which business and Government can partner to generate innovative projects.
Enhancing the Partnerships Victoria Framework PPPs remain a sound procurement method for infrastructure projects in Victoria, with an established history of delivering strong outcomes. PPPs drive innovations, efficiencies and enhanced values through a whole-of-life lens and a greater focus on long term service delivery and asset performance outcomes, supported by long-term contracts between the State and private sector to design, build, finance and maintain infrastructure and provide services, with remuneration linked to performance. In recognition of the important role the Partnerships Victoria Framework will continue to have in helping drive improved project outcomes, DTF is currently updating the Partnerships Victoria policy and guidelines to reflect learnings from recent projects and the outcomes of the coordinated procurement reviews. This will include reviewing how particular risks are allocated and managed during the delivery of projects, improvements to the way projects are procured and contracts are managed, and increasing early and ongoing collaboration with industry.
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