Government has procured a number of PFP projects since the publication of the original Working with Government Guidelines for Privately Financed Projects in late 2001.
These Guidelines have been updated and revised to reflect Government's experience on projects and to incorporate the findings of recent reviews and inquiries into PFPs.
Accordingly the Guidelines:
• Have been updated to reflect changes in Government structure since the publication of the original Working with Government Guidelines in 2001
• Now include in the Public Interest Evaluation an explicit value for money test from the perspectives of the users and taxpayers
• Require that at certain points throughout the tender process, updated Public Interest Evaluations are to be prepared and summaries publicly disclosed. Any significant changes are to be reported to BCC
• Include updated sections of the environmental approval process to reflect the introduction of Part 3A of the EP&A Act
• Now provide guidance on how agencies may use bidder engagement strategies, Best and Final Offers and pre-selection negotiations and guidance on the evaluation of non-conforming proposals;
• Provide clarity on the role of the boards of SOCs in the approval process;
• Update Government approval processes, including new requirements to seek further BCC approvals/advice if significant project factors change or if an agency wishes to renegotiate a PFP contract;
• Include a standard format for the preparation of Contract Summaries;
• Provide for continuing the life of the Steering Committee to enable it to oversee the initial delivery phase of the project; and
• Now provide consistency with the Government’s Procurement Policy Guidelines, released in July 2004.