1. SECTION 1 - CONDITIONS OF OFFER

  1. DEFINITIONS AND INTERPRETATION

    2. 1.1.1 "ABN"

    1.1.2 "Agreement"

      1. "Closing Date"

      2. "Department"

      3. "Evaluation Period"

      4. "FOI Act"

      5. "Goods"

      6. "GST"

      7. "Invitation"

      8. "Offer"

      9. "Offeror"

      10. "Services"

      11. "Supplier"

      12. "Tax Invoice"

      13. "Taxable Supply"

  1. INVITATION TO OFFER

  2. GENERAL OFFER CONDITIONS

  3. ESSENTIAL INFORMATION

  4. FORMAT OF OFFER AND MODE OF SUBMISSION

  5. ALTERATIONS TO INVITATION DOCUMENTS

  6. ACQUISITION OF INVITATION TO OFFER DOCUMENT

  7. NO RETURN OF DOCUMENTS

  8. LATE OR NON-CONFORMING OFFERS

  9. NO OFFERS BY FACSIMILE OR E-MAIL

  10. NO PART OFFERS

  11. PRICES OFFERED

  12. POSSESSION OF AUSTRALIAN BUSINESS NUMBER

  13. DELIVERY

  14. DISCOUNTS

  15. POST OFFER NEGOTIATIONS

  16. ACCEPTANCE OF OFFER

  17. NO ADVERTISING

  18. QUALITY ASSURANCE

  19. COMPETITIVE NEUTRALITY

  20. COMMISSIONS AND INCENTIVES

  21. OFFEROR REQUEST FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

  22. ADVICE

  23. DEPARTMENT REQUEST FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

  24. WORK SITES

  25. SAMPLES

  26. SUB-CONTRACTORS

  27. SELECTION CRITERIA

  28. OPENING OF OFFERS

  29. DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION

  30. CONFIDENTIALITY

  31. OFFER COSTS

  32. FINANCIAL ASSESSMENT

  33. STATISTICAL DATA

  34. DISCLAIMER

  35. OFFEROR’S CONDITIONS

 

  1. DEFINITIONS AND INTERPRETATION

    1. For these conditions, unless the contrary intention appears:

      1. "ABN" means Australian Business Number (ABN) as defined in A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 and the related Acts which constitute the Commonwealth taxation reform;

      2. "Agreement" means the documents which constitute the entire agreement between the department and the supplier as defined in condition 1.1.1 of the Conditions of Supply;

      3. "Closing Date" means the date and time specified in the invitation by which offers must be received by the department;

      4. "Department" means Education Queensland (the State of Queensland acting through the Department of Education) and it successors;

      5. "Evaluation Period" means the period in which offers are assessed by the department;

      6. "FOI Act" means the Freedom of Information Act 1992 (Qld);

      7. "Goods" means the materials, plant and equipment supplied to the department pursuant to an agreement or contract entered into pursuant to an arrangement;

      8. "GST" means the goods and services tax which results from the enactment of A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 and the related Acts which constitute the Commonwealth taxation reform;

      9. "Invitation" means the invitation to offer and comprises the documents listed in condition 2 of the Conditions of Offer;

      10. "Offer" means the offer submitted by the offeror;

      11. "Offeror" means the person, corporation or other entity submitting an offer;

      12. "Services" means the services supplied pursuant to an agreement;

      13. "Supplier" means the person or company whose offer has been accepted by the department;

      14. "Tax Invoice" means a document issued by the Supplier that complies with the requirements of subsection 29-70 (1) and (if applicable) section 54-50 of A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999; and

      15. "Taxable Supply" means a taxable supply as defined by A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 and the related Acts which constitute the Commonwealth taxation reform.

    2. In the event of any inconsistency between these conditions and the Specifications, these conditions will prevail to the extent of the inconsistency.

     

  2. INVITATION TO OFFER

    1. The invitation comprises:

      1. Conditions of Offer;

      2. Conditions of Supply;

      3. Additional Conditions;

      4. Background Information;

      5. Specification; and

      6. Schedule of Particulars (before it has been completed by the offeror).

  3. GENERAL OFFER CONDITIONS

    1. By submitting an offer, the offeror offers to supply goods or services specified in the invitation subject to the terms and conditions of the invitation which, to remove any doubt, includes the terms and conditions of the documents referred to in condition 2 of the Conditions of Offer.

    2. Each offer is valid and irrevocable for four calendar months after the closing date.

    3. Each offer must include an original copy and three (3) copies of the Schedule of Particulars, as well as one version on floppy disc capable of being read by Microsoft Word 2000. Each copy of the Schedule of Particulars must be clearly marked as a copy, on the front page of the Schedule of Particulars.

    4. In the event of any discrepancy between the original and a copy of any document, the original takes precedence.

    5. All alterations to the offer must be initialled by the offeror.

    6. The offeror must provide any additional information, not requested in the invitation, separately and details of the additional information should not be included in the Schedule of Particulars.

    7. Offerors may submit more than one offer.

    8. The offeror must not complete entries in the Schedule of Particulars with the words "see attached" only. The space provided in the Schedule of Particulars must be completed, but if insufficient space is available in the schedule to give a full response, attachments may be appended. In these circumstances, full details of any attachments must be provided by the offeror in the Schedule of Particulars.

  4. ESSENTIAL INFORMATION

    1. An offer must include the following information:

      1. in the case of an offer by an individual, the person's full name and address;

      2. in the case of an offer under a business name, the names and addresses of all proprietors and the address of the principal place of business; and

      3. in the case of an offer by a company, the full name of the company, the Australian Company Number and the address of the registered office of the company.

  5. FORMAT OF OFFER AND MODE OF SUBMISSION

    1. Offers must be:

      1. submitted in the form of the attached Schedule of Particulars;

      2. signed by the person or persons making the offer or, if a company, sealed by the company;

      3. submitted to the department in a sealed envelope marked on the front page "`Private and Confidential EDUC - (insert offer number) - Offer for (insert description of offer)" and marked with the number of separate packages included in the offer; and

      4. submitted on or before the closing date in accordance with condition 5.2 of the Conditions of Offer.

    2. The offer must be:

      1. lodged by the closing date in the tender box located at the Strategic Procurement Section, Floor 13, Education House, 30 Mary Street, Brisbane; or

      2. received by the department by post by the closing date at the Strategic Procurement Section, Education Queensland, PO Box 33, Brisbane Albert Street, Qld 4002.

  6. ALTERATIONS TO INVITATION DOCUMENTS

    1. The department will provide prospective offerors who obtain the invitation from the department with any amendments or additional information in relation to those documents within a reasonable time before the closing date.

    2. The department will update any internet version of the invitation with any amendments or additional information within a reasonable time before the closing date. Prospective offerors are responsible for ensuring that they have the latest version of the invitation if it has been obtained from the internet.

  7. ACQUISITION OF INVITATION TO OFFER DOCUMENT

    1. Prospective offerors must obtain the invitation from the department.

  8. NO RETURN OF DOCUMENTS

    1. The department will retain all offers.

  9. LATE OR NON-CONFORMING OFFERS

    1. Any offer:

      1. not lodged before the closing date; or

      2. which does not comply in every respect with the requirements of the Conditions of Offer; or

      3. in which the Schedule of Particulars is incomplete;

      may not be considered by the department.

    2. Any offer which does not comply with the requirements of the invitation must give particulars of those non-compliances in the Schedule of Particulars.

  10. NO OFFERS BY FACSIMILE OR E-MAIL

    1. Unless otherwise specified in the invitation, an offer by facsimile or e-mail will not be considered by the department.

  11. NO PART OFFERS

    1. Unless otherwise specified in the invitation, offers submitted for part of the requirements will not be considered. If an offer is invited in relation to a number of specified geographical areas, an offer to supply all of the requirements in only one or some of the specified areas is not a "part offer".

  12. PRICES OFFERED

    1. Prices offered must be:

      1. in Australian currency; and

      2. inclusive of the Goods and Services Tax on all taxable supplies.

    2. If a price is subject to fluctuation, particulars of the price formula/formulae and all variables must be included in the offer, however price fluctuations caused by enterprise bargaining agreements are not acceptable as formula/formulae variables.

    3. Prices offered must, unless otherwise specified in the invitation, include suitable packaging and delivery.

  13. POSSESSION OF AUSTRALIAN BUSINESS NUMBER

    1. It is not a condition of offer that offerors possess an Australian Business Number (ABN) at the time of submitting an offer. However, offerors that do not quote an ABN when submitting an offer will be required to:

    1. Offerors should seek advice from the Australian Taxation Office as to their eligibility to sign the ‘Statement by a Supplier – Reason for not quoting an Australian Business Number (ABN) to an enterprise’ form.

  1. DELIVERY

    1. An offer must specify:

      1. the means of delivery that will be used by the offeror; and

      2. the time for delivery after receipt of an order.

  2. DISCOUNTS

    1. An offer must include particulars of discounts, if any, deductible from the prices offered and how invoices will reflect the discount.

  3. POST OFFER NEGOTIATIONS

    1. The department reserves the right to have post offer negotiations with offerors who have been short listed on the basis of their offer.

  4. ACCEPTANCE OF OFFER

    1. The department reserves the right to:

      1. accept one offer, or more than one offer, for the whole of its requirements; or

      2. accept separate offers for any portion of its requirements; or

      3. accept one offer, or more than one offer, for any portion of its requirements; or

      4. not accept any of the offers.

    2. An offer will be deemed to be accepted when the department issues an official order or a Formal Instrument of Agreement is signed.

  5. NO ADVERTISING

    1. The offeror must not publish any information relating to the acceptance of any offer in any advertising medium unless it first obtains the written approval of the department.

  6. QUALITY ASSURANCE

    1. Where so specified in the invitation, offers will only be considered from offerors who have Quality Assurance certification to the level specified in the invitation.

  7. COMPETITIVE NEUTRALITY

    1. Offers submitted by a government owned business, a local government, a State or Commonwealth agency or authority must be priced to comply with the competitive neutrality policy of their respective jurisdiction.

  8. COMMISSIONS AND INCENTIVES

    1. An offer will not be considered if the person who made the offer, or a representative of the person or company who made the offer, gives or offers anything to any agent of the department as an inducement or reward which could in any way tend to influence the person's actions in relation to the offer.

    2. For the purposes of condition 21.1 of the Conditions of Offer, the word "agent" includes the parent, spouse, child or associate of the agent.

     

  9. OFFEROR REQUEST FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

    1. An offeror may make a written request to the department to provide clarification or additional information about the invitation.

    2. The department reserves the right, in its absolute discretion, to answer the offeror's request referred to in condition 22.1 of the Conditions of Offer.

    3. If when the offeror submits an offer, the offeror is unclear about the meaning of any part of the invitation, and the offeror has made a request to the department referred to in condition 22.1 of the Conditions of Offer, the offeror may include a statement of the offeror's interpretation of that part of the invitation and the department may take this statement into account when considering the offer.

    4. The department is not liable for any costs or compensation, nor will it grant the offeror an extension of time as a result of any additional information which the department may, in its absolute discretion, provide under condition 22.2 of the Conditions of Offer.

  10. ADVICE

    1. The department is not responsible for any oral advice given to an offeror and such advice will not constitute a warranty or representation to the offeror.

  11. DEPARTMENT REQUEST FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

    1. The department reserves its right in its absolute discretion, and at any time to:

      1. request clarification or additional information orally or in writing from any offeror;

      2. require any oral advice given by the offeror pursuant to condition 24.1.1 of the Conditions of Offer to be confirmed in writing; and

      3. request the offeror to attend a meeting with the department.

    2. If the department requests the offeror to attend a meeting pursuant to condition 24.1.3 of the Conditions of Offer, the offeror must be represented at the meeting by an officer who is authorised to make decisions on behalf of the offeror and who has knowledge of all technical, financial and contractual details of the offeror and is able to indicate the value of goods or services.

    3. The department may include in the offer any information provided by the offeror pursuant to this condition of the Conditions of Offer.

  12. WORK SITES

    1. Any person or company intending to submit an offer where on site services are required must visit the sites or otherwise satisfy themselves as to the facilities and conditions at the work sites.

  13. SAMPLES

    1. The department may require the offeror to provide samples of goods for inspection and testing during the evaluation period. All samples supplied to the department must be clearly labelled with a description of the sample, the name of the offeror and the offer number to which the sample relates. The samples which are supplied pursuant to this condition may be retained by the department in which case they will become the property of the department.

    2. An offeror will be responsible for the delivery and, if requested by the department, collection of the samples supplied pursuant to condition 26.1 of the Conditions of Offer.

  14. SUB-CONTRACTORS

    1. Where the offer includes a proposal to sub-contract, the offeror must include in the Schedule of Particulars full details of the proposed sub-contractors and their relevant experience.

  15. SELECTION CRITERIA

    1. Offers will be evaluated on the basis of the criteria specified in the Additional Conditions. The criteria are not necessarily in priority order.

  16. OPENING OF OFFERS

    1. Offers will not be opened publicly, unless specified in the invitation.

  17. DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION

    1. The department will regard all information submitted by any offeror, (except the name of the successful offeror), as confidential and will take all reasonable steps to safeguard the confidentiality of that information.

    2. The department's employees will enter into any confidentiality agreements necessary to protect the confidentiality of an organisation's future plans. However, the department cannot guarantee the confidentiality of any information included in the offer in view of the FOI Act.

    3. The offeror should highlight any information of a confidential nature by labelling all such information "Commercial in Confidence".

    4. A prospective offeror wishing to obtain information about the FOI Act should contact the Principal Policy Officer, Freedom of Information and Judicial Review Unit, Education Queensland, telephone (07) 3237 0758.

  18. CONFIDENTIALITY

    1. Except where the invitation is publicly advertised, the invitation is to be considered confidential and offerors must take all reasonable steps to safeguard the confidentiality of the material contained herein.

  19. OFFER COSTS

    1. No payment will be made by the department to any person or organisation for any costs, losses or expenses incurred by that person or organisation in preparing, submitting, discussing or otherwise relating to this Invitation to Offer.

  20. FINANCIAL ASSESSMENT

    1. Offerors that are shortlisted for this project are advised that as part of the evaluation process, financial assessments may be conducted. The department uses external agencies to perform these assessments.

  21. STATISTICAL DATA

    1. Statistical data provided in this Invitation to Offer is not to be construed as a guarantee for providing any volume of business whatsoever by the department. The contractor shall make no claim for anticipated profit or for loss of profit because of any difference between the statistical data provided to assist offerors in compiling an offer and the volume of goods or services actually required by the department and so provided by the contractor during the period of the agreement.

  22. DISCLAIMER

    1. The department will not be held liable for any claim on the grounds of erroneous or insufficient information. If an organisation has any doubts as to the meaning or intention of any part of this invitation, or if further information is required to ensure a clear and correct understanding of the nature and extent of the goods and services required by the department, application should be made to the department. If, as a result of such discussions, an amendment to the specifications is made, all prospective respondents will be notified.

    2. If there is still some doubt as to the meaning of any part of the Invitation to Offer, the offeror shall include a statement of the interpretation upon which the offer has been based, and the department will take this statement into account when evaluating the offer.

  23. OFFEROR’S CONDITIONS

    1. If you lodge your own conditions with your offer and they conflict with Education Queensland’s conditions, then Education Queensland's conditions shall apply unless you specifically state in the schedule that this is not to be the case. If so stated, then Education Queensland reserves the right to accept an offeror who is prepared to comply with the department’s conditions.

    2. Offerors shall explain and clarify any terms or conditions they have included in their response. It shall be the responsibility of offerors to inquire about and clarify any matter in this Invitation to Offer that the offeror does not fully understand or which the offeror believes may be subject to more than one interpretation.