8.  Approvals process

The following table summarises the National PPP stages and approvals and the Queensland equivalent stages and approvals.

National PPP Stage and Approvals Required

Queensland Equivalent Stages and Approvals Required

Approval of project investment and procurement

Obtain funding and project approval

Strategic assessment of service requirement

 

Preliminary evaluation

Initial determination of project priority and affordability

Project development phase

PPP business case

Confirmation of project priority and affordability, and if PPP delivery seek approval to proceed to EOI stage and release the EOI

EOI phase

Approval to release the EOI

EOI stage

Approval of short-listed proponents and proceed to the binding bid/request for proposal stage

RFP phase

Approval to issue the RFP to short-listed bidders

Approval of preferred bidder

Binding bid or RFP stage

Approval of preferred proponent (or preferred bidder) status

Approval to finalise project agreements within agreed parameters and proceed to financial close

Negotiation and completion phase

Approval to execute contract

Approval for the portfolio minister to execute the final project agreements in consultation with the Premier, Minister for Infrastructure and Planning, and the Treasurer

Contract management

Management of the project agreements

Queensland's PPP 'project' stages (i.e. post preliminary evaluation) align with the national PPP stages, except for the request for proposal (RFP) and 'negotiation and completion' phases. In Queensland, these latter two stages are compressed into a single 'binding bid' stage.

For the 'pre-PPP project' stage-namely strategic assessment and preliminary evaluation-these stages form part of the Queensland Government's Project Assurance Framework, which sets a minimum standard for investment decisions involving infrastructure projects.

Additional government approvals are also required in certain situations such as:

•  where there is a material change to the project including an amendment to the key project objectives, scope of services or the conclusions or major assumptions of the business case (including the economic and financial appraisals);

•  there is any significant material change in the risk allocation from that which was last approved by government;

•  an amendment to the budget funding is required; and

•  where significant issues relating to the public interest arise.