19.  Disclosure policy and project summary requirements

All Victorian PPP projects will be subject to review and disclosure requirements.

In accordance with Victorian Government Purchasing Board Policy (VGPB) the executed PPP contract must be published on the contracts website (www.contracts.vic.gov.au)  within three months of financial close. Visit the contracts website or www.partnerships.vic.gov.au  to view existing Victorian PPP contracts. The contract is to be published in full with limited exceptions from disclosure, guided by the criteria of the Victorian Freedom of Information Act 1982. Further information is available on the VGPB website at www.vgpb.vic.gov.au.

A project summary of each PPP project will be released within three months of the financial close of the project. The project summary will have two main sections:

•  part one will summarise key project features. This is intended to provide a snapshot of the rationale for the project, its value and the parties involved; and

•  part two will summarise the key commercial features of the project based on the contract.

The Treasurer and the responsible portfolio minister must approve any project summary before it is released. The minister is also responsible for tabling the project summary in Parliament at the time of its release (or the next Parliamentary sitting day).

In determining the appropriate content of the project summaries, each Partnerships Victoria project has its own specific and unique circumstances to take into account. The content of the summaries will also evolve as new areas of public interest emerge. Agencies must update the project summaries if any significant changes are made to the nature of the project post-release.

A template is available to guide development of the project summary in Annexure Eight. Project summaries are also available at www.partnerships.vic.gov.au.