The contract disclosure and project summary requirements for Partnerships Victoria projects are detailed in the Partnerships Victoria Requirements (November 2016). Disclosing the executed redacted contract on the Victorian government tenders website and publishing a project summary for each PPP project is required to be released within 60 days of financial close.
The project summary will summarise the:
• project objectives, scope, and procurement process;
• financial outcome, including the value of the project and cost to government; and
• commercial risk allocation based on the contract.
The project summary is prepared by the procuring agency and approved by the portfolio minister and the Treasurer. The portfolio minister is responsible for tabling the project summary in Parliament (or the next available Parliamentary sitting day). Once tabled, the project summary will be published on the DTF website.
The project summary is usually released at the same or similar time as the contract Project Deed and other associated contracts in accordance with Victorian Government Purchasing Board policy.
There is an ongoing obligation for procuring agencies to update the project summary if any significant changes or modifications occur during the life of the contract.
Precedent project summaries and the Project Summary Template can be accessed via the DTF website.
A relevant consideration for both private sector parties and the government party involved in Partnerships Victoria projects are the limits to claims of confidentiality in contractual dealings.
The Government's commitment to openness and transparency in its dealings extends to the public disclosure of tender and contract related information. The contract disclosure requirements are given effect through the VGPB Contract management and contract disclosure policy and section FRD 12B of the Financial Reporting Directions, 'Disclosure of major contacts' (June 2016).
The policy's objective is to maximise disclosure but reflects a fair balance between the public's right to know and recognition that limited circumstances exist where certain information should not be disclosed in the public interest.
The policy provides that:
• once the contract is signed and financial close is achieved, the government party (other than public sector agencies) is required to fully disclose details of contracts that are above $10 million on the Victorian government contracts publishing system <http://www.vgpb.vic.gov.au>;
• disclosure is subject to the application of the criteria contained in the FoI Act which allows material to be withheld in limited circumstances;
• if contract materials are excluded from disclosure based on FoI criteria, a note explaining the reason for non-disclosure should be included and the proposed disclosure release date of the exempt information;
• agencies are to advise tenderers of the strict limitations of confidentiality that will apply to the government party contracts and should avoid providing bidders with absolute assurances about the confidentiality that will be given to the information they provide; and
• a standard clause should be included in contracts requiring the private sector party to provide any information that the government party or the State may require to comply with requests from the Auditor-General.
Further information concerning the State's contract disclosure policy is available on the Victorian government purchasing board website <www.vgpb.vic.gov.au>.