DPS supports small business participation in the Commonwealth Government procurement market. Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and Small Enterprise participation statistics are available on the Department of Finance’s website: www.finance.gov.au/procurement/statistics-on-commonwealth-purchasing-contracts.

With a focus on achieving the best value for money outcome in each circumstance, DPS supports and encourages engagement with SMEs wherever practicable.

Consistent with paragraph 5.4 of the CPRs, to ensure that SMEs can engage in fair competition for Commonwealth business, DPS applies the following procurement practices:

• use of the Commonwealth Suite for low-risk procurements valued up to $200,000 and some procurements valued up to $1 million where practical, and
• payment cards to facilitate on-time payment performance.

To achieve best practice procurement processes the relevant divisions of the CPRs are applied as appropriate.

DPS recognises the importance of ensuring that small businesses are paid on time. The results of the Survey of Australian Government Payments to Small Business are available on Treasury’s website: www.treasury.gov.au.