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Law firm bid and tender glossary

Key terms for law firm tenders, panels and proposals in Australia and New Zealand

Before you start

Procurement has its own language, and government procurement has several.

If you’re new to law firm tenders, the acronyms alone can make a kick-off meeting feel like a foreign language class. Partners who tender once or twice a year often feel the same, even if they won’t say so.

This glossary explains the terms you’ll meet in legal services tenders, panel refreshes and proposals, from addenda to work orders. Start with the acronyms and the who’s who, then use the A to Z as you need it.

Usage varies between buyers, so always check the definitions section of the RFT you’re responding to.

148 terms

A

Addendum (plural addenda)
A formal notice from the buyer that changes or adds to the tender documents after release. Addenda are also the usual way buyers issue answers to clarification questions, and can update any part of the RFT, from the closing time to the draft contract or pricing schedule. Each addendum forms part of the tender documents.
Advice
Written legal advice on a specific question. Often called an advice in Australia, where an opinion usually means a barrister’s written advice. New Zealand firms often use opinion for both.
All-of-Government (AoG) panel
New Zealand’s central government legal services panel, used by government agencies and some councils to engage external lawyers. The New Zealand counterpart to WoAG.
Alternative fee arrangement (AFA)
Any pricing model other than straight hourly rates, such as fixed fees, capped fees, blended rates, tiered rates, volume discounts or retainers. Increasingly requested in legal tenders.
Alternative tender
A response offering a different approach or pricing model from the one specified. Most buyers require a conforming tender alongside it, so an alternative is usually in addition to your main response, not instead of it.
Application for inclusion (AFI)
An application to join a panel or pre-approved supplier list, also called a request for registration of interest (ROI). Often the first stage of a two or three-stage process. A place on the list is a licence to compete for work, not a guarantee of it.
Approach to market (ATM)
The Australian Government’s term for any process that invites offers from suppliers, including RFTs, RFQs and EOIs.
Attachments
Supporting material lodged with a response. RFTs use attachment, appendix, annexure, exhibit, schedule and supplement more or less interchangeably.
AusTender
The Australian Government’s central procurement website, where Commonwealth entities publish approaches to market and contract notices.

B

BAFO (best and final offer)
A final, improved offer requested from shortlisted tenderers before the buyer makes a decision. It usually focuses on price, but can also cover scope, risk and value adds. For more on pricing strategy through to BAFO, see the articles at lawfirmtenders.com.au.
Beauty parade
An informal name for shortlist presentations, where competing firms present to the client one after another. See shortlist presentation.
Bid or no bid decision
The decision whether to pursue an opportunity at all, based on your prospects of winning, fit with firm strategy and the resources required. Also called go or no go, or bid qualification.
Bid plan
The schedule of tasks, owners and dates for a tender, usually agreed at the kick-off meeting.
Blended rate
A single hourly rate applied across lawyers of different seniority, in place of separate rates for each level.
Briefing session
An information session the buyer runs during the tender period, in person or online, to explain the opportunity and answer questions. Also called an industry briefing, pre-tender briefing or supplier briefing. Anything new said on the day is usually confirmed in an addendum.
Business continuity plan (BCP)
The firm’s plan for keeping client work going through a major disruption, such as a system outage or loss of premises. See also disaster recovery plan.
Buyer
The organisation calling for tenders. Also called the principal, the customer or the tendering organisation.

C

Canvassing
Approaching councillors, board members or buyer staff, other than the contact officer, to influence a tender. Usually prohibited, and grounds for exclusion. See probity.
Capability statement
A concise document showing the expertise, experience and people of a firm or practice group. Used as brochureware for prospective clients, or to showcase capability within a tender.
Capped fee
A fee that will not exceed an agreed amount for a defined scope of work, usually subject to stated assumptions.
Case study
A short account of a matter: the client’s issue, what the firm did and the outcome. Stronger evidence of capability than a list of matters.
Categories
The practice areas or service groups a panel is divided into. Firms nominate the categories they are tendering for, and can be appointed to some and not others. Also called workstreams or lots.
Certificate of currency
Evidence from your insurer that a policy, such as PI or public liability, is current. A common mandatory attachment, and a common last-minute scramble.
Claims panel
A panel of law firms an insurer appoints to act on claims against its policyholders. Matters are referred one at a time, and appointment rarely guarantees volume.
Clarification questions
Questions a tenderer puts to the buyer during the tender period, usually through the portal or the contact officer and before a published cut off. Also called tender queries, and often managed through an online tender forum. Answers are generally shared with all tenderers without identifying who asked, often as an addendum. Buyers may also send clarification questions to tenderers during evaluation.
Closing time
The exact date and time by which responses must be lodged. Late tenders are usually excluded, whatever the reason.
Collusion
Tenderers coordinating their prices or bids, or sharing information with competitors. Prohibited, and many buyers ask for a signed declaration that your tender was prepared independently.
Colour team reviews
Staged reviews of a tender draft, named by colour. A black hat review looks at the opportunity through the eyes of your competitors, a pink team reviews an early draft against the requirements, a red team scores a near-final draft as an evaluator would, and a gold team gives final sign-off. Some organisations use gold, silver and bronze instead. Common in bid-heavy industries; most law firms run simpler reviews, not least because most law firm tenders allow about four weeks or less.
Commercial-in-confidence
A label for information in your tender that you ask the buyer to keep confidential, such as your rates. Government buyers may still have to release some of it.
Compliance matrix
A table mapping every requirement in the RFT to where your response addresses it. Some buyers require one.
Conditions for participation
Requirements a tenderer must meet to be considered at all, such as insurance levels or practising certificates. A Commonwealth Procurement Rules term.
Conditions of tender
The rules of the process: how and when to lodge, confidentiality, offer validity, probity requirements and the procurement timetable. Usually the first part of an RFT, and the part most often skimmed.
Confidentiality
Obligations to protect the buyer’s confidential information, set out in the conditions of tender and the contract, and often covering the tender process itself. For law firms, these sit alongside existing professional duties of confidentiality to clients.
Conflict of interest
For law firms, both legal conflicts (acting for or against the buyer or related parties) and procurement conflicts (such as relationships with evaluators). Most RFTs require disclosure and a plan for managing conflicts.
Conforming and non-conforming tenders
A conforming tender meets every requirement of content and form in the RFT. A non-conforming tender departs from them, and the buyer may exclude it or assess it at its discretion.
Consortium or joint tender
Two or more firms responding together, often to cover regions or services one firm can’t cover alone. Not every buyer allows it.
Content library
The firm’s store of reusable tender content: standard answers, firm descriptions, credentials, CVs and case studies. Also called boilerplate. Only as good as its last update.
Contract, deed or agreement
In tenders, broadly interchangeable names for the document that will govern the engagement. A deed differs technically (it doesn’t need consideration, and generally has a longer limitation period), but for tender purposes they do the same job. The RFT usually includes a draft, and large buyers expect you to sign on their paper rather than your firm’s standard terms.
Corporate social responsibility (CSR)
A firm’s commitments to the community and environment beyond its legal obligations, such as pro bono, volunteering, charitable partnerships and sustainability. Largely superseded by ESG in tender language, but still common in RFTs and questionnaires.
CPD (continuing professional development)
The training lawyers must complete each year to renew their practising certificates. Firms often offer CPD sessions to a client’s in-house team as a value add.
Criteria
The questions or requirements your response must address. One is a criterion; several are criteria.
CVs
Short, tailored CVs for the lawyers nominated in a tender, focused on experience relevant to the buyer. Often requested in a set format or with a page limit.

D

Data security
Protecting information and systems from unauthorised access, loss or attack: access controls, encryption, where data is stored, backups and incident response. Also called information security or cyber security. Buyers may ask about certification to ISO/IEC 27001 or alignment with the Essential Eight.
Debrief (client)
A meeting after the decision in which the buyer explains how your tender was evaluated. Government buyers commonly offer them to unsuccessful tenderers, and most buyers will give one on request.
Debrief (internal)
Your own team’s review of how the tender went. See our internal tender debrief kit: a guide, facilitator deck and worksheet for law firms.
Deed of standing offer
The deed that governs many government legal panels. It sets terms for future work without guaranteeing any; individual matters are engaged separately, usually by work order.
Disaster recovery (DR) plan
The technical plan for restoring IT systems and data after a failure, cyber attack or loss of premises. A business continuity plan keeps the work going; a disaster recovery plan gets the systems back. Tenders often ask for both.
Disbursements
Out-of-pocket costs charged on top of professional fees, such as filing fees, searches, counsel’s fees and travel. Small office outlays such as postage and copying are sometimes called sundries or, in some places, petties. Pricing schedules often ask how you’ll treat them.
Down-select
To reduce the field of tenderers at a stage of the process, for example from EOI respondents to a shortlist, or from a shortlist to a preferred tenderer. Firms taken forward have been down-selected. Also written downselect; more common in government and defence procurement.
Due diligence checks
The checks a buyer makes on preferred tenderers before appointment, such as referee calls, company and credit searches, and financial reviews.

E

Equitable briefing
Commitments to brief women barristers (and increasingly, other under-represented groups) fairly. Many firms and government buyers have adopted the Law Council of Australia’s Equitable Briefing Policy, and legal tenders often ask for targets and results.
ESG (environmental, social and governance)
The framework buyers use to assess a supplier’s wider conduct. For law firms, questions typically cover emissions and climate commitments, diversity and inclusion, Indigenous engagement, pro bono, wellbeing, modern slavery and governance. ESG criteria increasingly carry a scoring weighting.
Essential Eight
The Australian Signals Directorate’s eight baseline strategies for mitigating cyber security incidents, assessed against maturity levels. Increasingly referenced in government security questionnaires.
eTendering portal
The online platform used to issue tender documents, manage questions and receive responses. Examples include AusTender, GETS and Tenderlink.
Evaluation criteria
The criteria your response will be scored against, often weighted. The basis of your score.
Evaluation methodology
How the buyer will assess responses: the stages, the weightings and the scoring scale (for example, 0 to 5 or 0 to 10, with a description of what each score means). Sometimes disclosed in the RFT, sometimes not.
Executive summary
A short opening section that gives evaluators your key messages and why they should choose you. Often the most read part of any tender.
Expression of interest (EOI)
The first stage of a multi-stage process. Shortlisted respondents are invited to submit a full tender or proposal.

F

Financial viability
Evidence that the firm is financially sound enough to deliver the contract, such as audited accounts or a letter from its accountant.
Fixed fee
A set price for a defined scope of work, regardless of time spent. Segmented fixed fees set a price for each stage or event in a matter.
Form of tender
The signed form that turns your response into a formal offer and confirms you accept the conditions of tender. Also called a tender declaration or, in New Zealand, a participant declaration.
Freedom of information
Laws that let the public request government information, which can include tender material. Examples include the GIPA Act in NSW, and the Official Information Act and LGOIMA in New Zealand.

G

GETS
The Government Electronic Tenders Service: New Zealand’s government tender website.
Go or no go
Another name for the bid or no bid decision. See bid or no bid decision.

H

Hourly rates
The standard way law firms price legal work: a rate per hour for each level of lawyer, from partner to paralegal. Most pricing schedules ask for them, even where alternative fee arrangements are also invited.

I

Incumbent
The firm currently providing the services. Incumbents benefit from familiarity, but also carry the baggage of any past service issues.
Indigenous Participation Plan
A plan submitted with a tender, and reported against during the contract, setting out how you will meet the buyer’s Indigenous participation targets, through Indigenous employment, supplier use or both. Under the Commonwealth Indigenous Procurement Policy, plans are required for higher-value contracts in specified industry categories; some state policies have similar requirements. The targets usually become contractual commitments.
Indigenous Procurement Policy (IPP)
The Commonwealth policy that sets targets for government purchasing from Indigenous businesses and, for some contracts, mandatory minimum Indigenous participation requirements. Several states have equivalent policies, such as the NSW Aboriginal Procurement Policy.
Industry briefing
See briefing session.
Invitation to offer (ITO)
The Queensland Government’s usual name for a formal tender, published on QTenders. Broadly equivalent to an RFT. Some other buyers use the similar request for offer (RFO).
ISO/IEC 27001
The international standard for information security management systems. Certification is by an accredited third party. Some buyers require it; more treat it as evidence in your favour.

J

Joint tender
See consortium or joint tender.

K

Key personnel
The named people the buyer is relying on to deliver the services. Often written into the contract, so substituting them later usually needs the buyer’s approval. Also called nominated or specified personnel.
Kick-off meeting
The first meeting of the bid team after the RFT is released, to agree the key decisions and the bid plan.
KPIs and service levels
The measures a buyer uses to assess a panel firm’s performance, such as response times, budget accuracy and reporting. Sometimes linked to formal reviews or continued panel membership.

L

Late tender
See closing time.
Legal panel
A pre-approved group of firms that a buyer engages for ongoing or repeat legal work, often by practice area, set up through a single tender. Appointment rarely guarantees any work.
Local business preference
A criterion or weighting some councils use to favour suppliers based in their area. See also local economic benefit.
Local economic benefit
A criterion that assesses what your tender will contribute to the local economy, such as local jobs, local suppliers or an office in the area. Common in council and regional tenders, often with a weighting. See also local business preference.

M

Mandatory requirements
Must-meet requirements, often signalled by ‘must’ rather than ‘should’. Missing one can exclude your tender before it’s scored.
Matter allocation
How a buyer decides which panel firm receives each new matter, based on factors such as expertise, location, conflicts, capacity and past performance. Also called referral.
Matter credentials
Examples of past matters used as evidence of capability. Client consent is usually needed before naming a client or describing a matter.
Model litigant obligations
The duty of government agencies to act fairly and honestly in litigation, which extends to the lawyers acting for them. Government legal tenders often ask how you meet it.
Modern slavery
Serious exploitation such as forced labour, debt bondage and human trafficking, including in supply chains. The Commonwealth Modern Slavery Act 2018 requires larger entities (currently those with annual consolidated revenue of at least $100 million) to publish annual modern slavery statements. Buyers commonly ask all tenderers about modern slavery risks, whether or not they report.

N

Notification of outcome
The buyer’s formal advice of the result of a tender. Unsuccessful tenderers are usually offered a debrief.

O

Offer validity period
How long your tender remains open for acceptance. Your rates and terms must hold for that period. Also called the tender validity period.
Open tender
A tender advertised publicly and open to any firm that meets the conditions for participation.
Opinion
See advice.
Order of precedence
The rule in the tender documents for which document prevails if two conflict. The most recent addendum usually wins.

P

Panel refresh
When a buyer re-runs its panel at the end of a term. Existing panel firms must win their place again.
Panel term
How long a panel appointment runs, usually an initial term plus extension options at the buyer’s discretion (for example, three years plus two one-year options).
Part offer
A tender for only some of the services, categories or regions on offer. Some buyers welcome them; others won’t consider them.
Petties
See disbursements.
Post-tender negotiation
Negotiation the buyer holds with one or more tenderers after closing, usually on price or terms, before making an award.
PQE (post-qualification experience)
Years since a lawyer was admitted. Buyers use it to set rate bands and minimum experience levels. Also called PAE (post-admission experience).
Practising certificate
The annual licence a lawyer needs to practise. Tenders often ask for current certificates for all nominated lawyers.
Preferred tenderer
The firm or firms the buyer selects to negotiate with before awarding the contract. Close, but not yet a win.
Pricing schedule
The buyer’s required format for your fees, such as hourly rates by level, fixed fees for defined tasks, or discounts. Often an Excel workbook. Also called a schedule of rates.
Privacy
How the firm collects, stores, uses and discloses personal information, under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles, or New Zealand’s Privacy Act 2020. Tenders often ask about privacy policies, training and how you would respond to a data breach.
Pro bono
Legal services provided free, or at a substantially reduced fee, to people and organisations who can’t otherwise afford them. Government buyers commonly take pro bono performance into account, and many firms are signatories to the Australian Pro Bono Centre’s National Pro Bono Target, an aspirational 35 hours per lawyer per year.
Probity
The fairness and integrity of the procurement process. Buyers usually prohibit contact with anyone other than the contact officer during a tender, and canvassing can lead to exclusion.
Process contract
A contract that can arise from the tender process itself, binding the buyer to follow its own rules. Most RFTs state that no process contract is created.
Professional indemnity (PI) insurance
Insurance covering claims arising from professional services. Tenders often set a minimum level of cover as a mandatory requirement.
Public liability insurance
Insurance covering injury to people or damage to property caused in the course of your business. Commonly required alongside PI and workers compensation insurance, at a stated minimum.
Pursuit
Another word for a tender or other opportunity the firm is chasing, and for the work of chasing it.

Q

Qualitative criteria
The non-price criteria in a tender, such as experience, capability, approach and ESG. Usually scored and weighted, and in legal services tenders they often carry more weight than price.
Quotation
See request for quotation (RFQ).

R

Rate review
The rules for whether and when panel rates can rise during the term, often yearly and capped at CPI. Also called price variation or rate escalation.
Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP)
A formal plan, endorsed by Reconciliation Australia, setting out an organisation’s commitments to reconciliation with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Buyers often ask whether you have one, and at what stage.
Referee
A client contact who agrees to be named in your tender and contacted by the buyer to vouch for your work. Their permission is needed before you name them.
Reference
What a referee says about your work, either as a written testimonial included in your response or in answer to the buyer’s questions during a reference check. The referee is the person; the reference is what they say.
Request for information (RFI)
A market-sounding exercise to gather information before a formal process. Not a bid, but a chance to shape one.
Request for proposal (RFP)
An invitation to propose your approach to the buyer’s needs. Usually more flexible than an RFT.
Request for quotation (RFQ)
An invitation to quote for a defined matter or bundle of work, used when the buyer already knows what it wants. The focus is on price and specifics, though an RFQ can still take as much effort as a tender. Commonwealth entities often use RFQs to engage firms already on a panel.
Request for tender (RFT)
A formal invitation to respond to set requirements, conditions and evaluation criteria. Also called an invitation to tender (ITT), particularly in the UK, and an invitation to offer (ITO) in Queensland.
Respondent
See tenderer.
Retainer
A regular fee for an agreed scope of ongoing work or access to advice.
Returnable schedules
The forms and templates you must complete and return, often with word, character or page limits. This is where you actually answer the criteria. Also called response forms.

S

Secondment
Placing one of your lawyers in the client’s in-house team for a period. A common value add in legal tenders.
Security questionnaire
A set of questions, often a separate returnable schedule, covering some or all of data security, privacy and confidentiality. Some buyers bundle these together; others treat each separately. See each term.
Select tender
A tender open only to invited firms, usually those that passed an EOI or that the buyer already knows. Also called a closed or invitation-only tender, and in Australian government a limited tender.
Shortlist
The smaller group of firms the buyer takes forward after evaluating written responses, usually to a presentation, a BAFO or both. See also down-select.
Shortlist presentation
A meeting with each shortlisted firm, usually the final stage before a decision. Also called a pitch, interview, orals or, informally, a beauty parade. Often scored.
Social procurement
Using procurement spend to achieve social outcomes beyond the service itself, such as Indigenous participation, diversity, local employment or support for social enterprises. Commonwealth buyers apply the Indigenous Procurement Policy, several states have their own frameworks, and in New Zealand look for ‘broader outcomes’.
Sole source
Engaging a single firm without a competitive process, within the limits set by the buyer’s procurement policy. Also called a direct approach.
Specification
See statement of requirements.
Standing offer arrangement (SOA)
See deed of standing offer.
Statement of compliance
A statement of where your response does not comply with the RFT or the draft contract, often with proposed amendments. Also called departures or deviations.
Statement of requirements
The part of the RFT describing the services the buyer needs. Sometimes called the specification or scope of services.
Statutory declaration
A written statement signed before an authorised witness, which it is an offence to make falsely. Often used for declarations about collusion, conflicts and compliance.
Supplier code of conduct
The standards of behaviour a buyer expects of its suppliers. Also called a statement of business ethics. Agreeing to comply is often a condition of tender.

T

Te Tiriti o Waitangi capability
A firm’s understanding of the Treaty of Waitangi and how it applies, including work with iwi and Māori. New Zealand public sector buyers often ask for it, and may score it.
Tender period
The time between release of the tender documents and the closing time. For law firm tenders, usually about four weeks, sometimes less.
Tenderer
The firm responding to a tender (that’s you). Also called the bidder, respondent, participant, proposer or supplier.
Tiered hourly rates
Rates that change as a matter progresses, for example reducing after a set number of hours.
Transition-in
The period when a newly appointed firm is onboarded: conflict checks, billing and reporting set-up, and handover of files from any outgoing firm. Tenders often ask for a transition plan. The reverse, handing files to a new firm at the end of a panel term, is transition-out.

U

Unsolicited proposal
A proposal your firm initiates without a formal request. In the private sector, this is simply a proactive pitch. Government unsolicited proposals are a separate, formal process with published guidelines in most jurisdictions.

V

Value adds
Services offered at no or reduced cost beyond the core scope, such as CPD training, legal updates, secondments or knowledge sharing.
Value for money
The principle that the best offer isn’t simply the cheapest. The core rule of Commonwealth procurement, weighing price against quality, risk and outcomes.
Volume discount
A reduction in rates once the client’s spend passes agreed thresholds.

W

Weighted attribute method
New Zealand’s standard evaluation model: each criterion (attribute) gets a percentage weight, and the weighted scores are added together.
Weighting
The relative importance of each evaluation criterion, usually expressed as a percentage.
Whole of Australian Government (WoAG) Legal Services Panel
The Commonwealth panel of legal service providers, administered by the Attorney-General’s Department and used by Commonwealth entities to engage external lawyers.
WHS (work health and safety)
The law and systems covering safety at work. Even professional services tenders often include a WHS questionnaire. Still called OHS or OH&S (occupational health and safety) in Victoria, and health and safety in New Zealand.
Win themes
The handful of messages you want evaluators to remember, repeated consistently across your response.
Word and page limits
Limits set in the returnable schedules. Evaluators usually stop reading at the limit, and some buyers exclude responses that exceed it.
Work order
The document engaging a panel firm for a specific matter under a panel arrangement. Also called an instruction (particularly in New Zealand) or a purchase order.
Workers compensation insurance
Compulsory insurance covering employees for workplace injury. Tenders often ask for a certificate of currency.

X, Y and Z

X, Y and Z
Procurement has found a term for almost everything, but not these. If you come across one, let us know.

Acronyms

Select an acronym to go to its entry.

Who’s who

At your firm

Lead partner
The partner accountable for the tender: its strategy, key decisions and final sign-off. Also called the bid partner or bid owner, and usually the relationship partner.
Relationship partner
The partner who owns the firm’s relationship with the client, and usually the lead partner on the tender.
Bid manager
The person who runs the tender process day to day: the plan, the deadlines and the production. Larger firms may also have a bid or tender writer who drafts and edits; in smaller firms, the BD or marketing team often does both.
Bid team
Everyone contributing to the tender: partners, lawyers, BD and marketing, pricing, and production support.
Subject matter experts
The partners and lawyers who supply technical content, matter examples and review for their practice areas, plus specialists such as pricing, IT or HR where the tender needs them.
BD and marketing team
Usually the people holding it all together. If you’re reading this, possibly you.

At the buyer

Contact officer
The buyer’s nominated person for all communication during the tender. The only person you should contact.
Procurement team
The people who design and run the process and enforce its rules. They make sure the process is followed; they rarely decide on legal quality alone.
In-house legal team
The general counsel and in-house lawyers who will instruct the successful firms. Usually the strongest voice in a legal services evaluation.
Evaluation panel
The people who score your tender, usually drawn from in-house legal and procurement, and sometimes business users of legal services.
Probity adviser
An independent person some buyers appoint, particularly for larger government tenders, to oversee the fairness of the process.

Easily confused

Referee and reference

The referee is the person; the reference is what they say.

Look up Referee Reference

Legal panel and work order

A panel place is a licence to compete for work. A work order engages you for a specific matter.

Look up Legal panel Work order

RFT, RFP and RFQ

An RFT sets the requirements, an RFP asks for your approach, and an RFQ asks for a price for defined work.

Look up Request for tender (RFT) Request for proposal (RFP) Request for quotation (RFQ)

Must and should

‘Must’ usually signals a mandatory requirement. Miss one and your tender can be excluded before it’s scored.

Look up Mandatory requirements

Criterion and criteria

One is a criterion; several are criteria. Evaluators notice.

Look up Criteria Evaluation criteria

Shortlist and preferred tenderer

A shortlist is taken forward to the next stage. A preferred tenderer is chosen to negotiate: close, but not yet a win.

Look up Shortlist Preferred tenderer

Anatomy of an RFT

Every buyer arranges its documents differently, but most RFTs contain four parts.

  1. Part 1

    Conditions of tender

    The rules of the process and the procurement timetable.

  2. Part 2

    Background and statement of requirements

    Who the buyer is, why it’s going to market, and the legal services it needs. Panel tenders often include historical legal spend and the current number of panel firms.

  3. Part 3

    Draft contract, deed or agreement

    The terms you’ll be asked to sign.

  4. Part 4

    Returnable schedules

    The forms where you answer the criteria, plus the pricing schedule.

Expect supporting documents too, such as policies provided for your information and requests for evidence like certificates of currency.

Where tenders are published

Register with the portals for each jurisdiction you want to work in.

JurisdictionPortal
CommonwealthAusTender
New South Walesbuy.nsw
VictoriaBuying for Victoria
QueenslandQTenders
South AustraliaSA Tenders and Contracts
Western AustraliaTenders WA
TasmaniaTasmanian Government Tenders
Northern TerritoryQuotations and Tenders Online
ACTTenders ACT
New ZealandGETS (central and local government)

Councils often buy through collective arrangements, such as Local Buy in Queensland, Local Government Procurement in NSW and MAV Procurement in Victoria, as well as through their own tender pages and portals such as Tenderlink.

You don’t need to speak procurement fluently to win. You do need to understand exactly what the buyer is asking for.

Happy bidding!

Come across a term we haven’t listed?

Get in touch. We’d love to hear from you, and about what you’re seeing in bids, tenders and proposals.

hello@lawfirmtenders.com.au

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