| • Confirm achievement of policy intent • Probity review • Report to ministers • Execute contract |
Chapter 6 of the Infrastructure Australia Practitioners' Guide describes the steps that need to be taken between selection of preferred bidder and contract execution. These are not duplicated here. A point worth emphasising is that negotiations can be minimised or avoided if:
• potential bidders are given the opportunity to comment on the draft contract before the Project Brief is issued, and
• the Project Brief provides that all proposed changes to the contract are accompanied by a dollar adjustment to the bid price that would leave the bidder indifferent between having the amendment and not having it. The government could then decide which changes to accept without the need for further negotiation.