As I mentioned last month, the 2025 LGP Annual Conference will be held on Tuesday 21 and Wednesday 22 October, where we’ll welcome hundreds of key stakeholders back to Doltone House, Darling Island.
This year’s theme is ‘Future Focused: 2026 & Beyond’. We’ll explore both what’s on the immediate agenda for procurement and contract management, and what we need to prepare for in the years ahead.
Topics will include the future of AI in government, global procurement trends, economic inclusion and First Nations business engagement, and building empathetic workplace cultures – all supported by a series of innovative council case studies to learn from.
Delegate registrations are now open on the LGP website – click here to secure your ticket.
Our First Nations Procurement Scheme has now grown to include 60 First Nations businesses available on VendorPanel, ready for engagement by our 128 NSW councils. All suppliers are either ‘Certified’ Supply Nation and/or ‘Assured’ Members of the NSW Indigenous Chamber of Commerce.
We encourage all councils to log into VendorPanel, click on Local Government Procurement Lists, and review the list titled LGP First Nations Procurement Scheme, found just above our Legal Services Contract List.
Please note, this scheme operates outside LGP’s Prescription, with engagements capped at $250k (inc GST) to remain under the tender threshold. Councils must apply their own Procurement Policy when engaging under this scheme.
While on the topic of engaging the First Nations business sector, Supply Nation’s annual flagship event, Connect 2025, returns to ICC Sydney on Gadigal Land on Wednesday 20 and Thursday 21 August.
Supply Nation is kindly offering a 15% NSW Local Government discount for group bookings of between 2–10 attendees.
Having attended last year, I can attest these are two inspiring days where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesses, corporate organisations, and government departments meet to foster opportunities and celebrate the success of the sector.
Use this unique link to purchase your tickets now.
Last month I shared our intention to launch our new funding solution in partnership with Telstra, the Innovation Development Fund (IDF). We’ve decided to delay the launch until September, given the number of initiatives currently before councils.
In the meantime, as we’ve discussed with some councils, please start considering digital transformation projects you have which is aimed towards advancing your council and therefore could be a candidate for this new program. More to come very soon.
Thank you.