LGP Approved Contractors
Local Government Procurement (LGP) seeks to forge strong relationships with LGP Approved Contractors. These relationships are not just legal via a contract but working relationships where there are common goals and mutual benefits. Being appointed to an LGP panel and having the status of approved contractor is highly sought after. The process is rigorous and the requirements are high level.
LGP endeavours to form and maintain quality panels to deliver value for money products and services to Local Government.
Suppliers who are not currently LGP Approved Contractors can click here to learn more about Local Government Procurement, the tender process and other frequently asked questions.
The LGP Reporting Gateway is a secure platform for LGP Approved Contractors to submit monthly sales reports.
Contact the LGP Contracts Team via [email protected] if you have any questions.
LGP now offers approved contractors the capability to modify, assign, and update their key details on the LGP Reporting Gateway.
- Primary Contact: This person serves as the main point of contact between your company and LGP. They should have a good understanding of the obligations and operations related to the LGP contract.
- Reporting Contact: This contact receives notifications about reporting obligations and is responsible for reporting sales activity through the LGP contract.
- Invoicing Contact: This contact is responsible for receiving invoices. They may be someone from your Accounts Payable (AP) department and may differ from the Reporting Contact.
When logged in to the reporting gateway, you can update key contacts. This allows you to:
- Create a new Primary, Reporting, or Invoicing contact.
- Update your existing key contacts.
- Remove inactive or expired contacts.
This functionality is now available on the LGP reporting gateway for approved contractors. To gain a clearer understanding, we recommend watching the tutorial.
Being appointed an LGP approved contractor is no easy task. It sets you and your organisation apart from the rest. The information located in this section will help you throughout your appointment to your panel.
LGP sees its relationship with approved contractors as a partnership, not only in the legal sense but also as a working relationship where we can both advance mutual interests.
Following are some of the benefits you should enjoy by being appointed to an LGP panel:
- There is no need for councils to run an RFT process and therefore you will save time and money
- Under diligent management by LGP the panel is one of quality approved contractors
- One set of agreed terms and conditions that streamline processes
- Common RFQ process via the VendorPanel portal
- Transparency of process via the VendorPanel portal
- Contract is centrally managed by LGP throughout its term
- Reduced risk when tendering as probity and process is managed by LGP
- LGP arrangements are flexible: approved contractor are not locked in by scope or pricing
- Opportunities to business with councils may be increased
- A partnership with LGP brings advantage
Whilst being an LGP approved contractor presents numerous opportunities, several obligations must be met, these are:
- Compliance with contractual conditions
- Accurate and on time reporting
- Promotion of the contract
- Acting in the spirit of the contract
Your customers are our customers and an undertaking we can be united in.
To be eligible to use LGP contracts, customers must be defined as:
- NSW local council
- NSW county councils
- NSW Regional Organisation of Councils (ROC)
- NSW aboriginal land council
- NSW not for profit (NFP) – must be approved by LGP
- NSW state government agencies
The Standing Offer Deed (SOD), or contract, is the agreement between LGP and approved contractors that the offer of goods or services under a pre-arranged pricing structure and utilising established terms and conditions will be made to LGPs customers. The SOD is an umbrella agreement whereby a contract is formed between the approved contractor and the customer when a purchase order (or equivalent) is provided by the customer. All approved contractors are provided with a counter signed copy of the SOD. If you cannot locate your copy, please send your request to [email protected].
A monthly report must be submitted by the 14th of each month with the previous months invoiced transactions entered e.g. invoiced sales for January are due on 14 February. Sales are to be reported via the online LGP Reporting Gateway. If you do not have a login for the portal contact [email protected].
Customers will be supplied a tax invoice directly by the contractor. All payments will be made to the contractor in accordance with clause 26.3 of the Standard terms of Contract between a Customer and Contractor (Schedule 5 of the Head Agreement (standing offer deed)) i.e. Unless otherwise agreed in writing, a LGP manages a large number of preferred supply panels covering a wide variety of products and services incorporating the intricacies of the various market structures. Recovery of costs associated with managing these panels are reflected in the various management fee mechanisms. This fee structure is communicated in the RFT and is fixed for the term of the contract.
The management fee for your contract is listed in Schedule A of your SOD.
A portion of the management fee is returned to the council, based on usage, annually. It is a further saving to the council, an incentive and a way for LGP to share success with key stakeholders.
Customer must make such payment by the end of the month following the month of invoice.
THE NOTICE OF PARTICIPATION FORM:
To ensure LGP approved contractors are advised of a customer’s intentions when procuring goods and/or services through an LGP contract and to provide customers and approved contractors with the assurance that customers are procuring under the relevant terms and conditions of contract, LGP strongly recommends that a Notice of Participation form is completed for each contract and sent to LGP. LGP will then advise approved contractors on the panel of the customer’s intentions for the duration of the contract.
Completion of this Notice of Participation form DOES NOT lock a customer into a contract, it is an instrument used to demonstrate the customer’s intention to purchase goods and services from this contract until otherwise notified.
Click here for full explanation on how the Notice of Participation operates.
Overview of Main Points
All LGP customers are automatically covered by the terms and conditions of LGP’s contracts. | √ |
All purchases of deliverables by customers may be treated as orders under the Standing Offer Deed, whether or not a LGP contract number is quoted at the time of order or purchase, or a Notice of Participation is provided. | √ |
Unless otherwise notified by customers, approved contractors should treat all purchases of goods and services that fall within the scope of an LGP contract as purchases under that contract. If in doubt the approved contractor should ask for clarification from the customer…. preferably in writing. | √ |
A Notice of Participation allows customers to advise approved contractors of the customer’s intention to procure all applicable goods and/or services under the terms and conditions of an LGP contract, no matter how that procurement is conducted. | √ |
The completion of a Notice of Participation DOES NOT lock a customer into using a contract. | √ |
The Notice of Participation covers those goods and services that fall under the scope of the relevant LGP contract. | √ |
A Notice of Participation can be taken as providing an approved contractor with a written request to engage via the LGP contract and override any pre-existing contracts. | √ |
Where goods and services are procured under an LGP arrangement then those purchases must be reported to LGP. This includes purchases by those customers who have not signed a Notice of Participation. | √ |
Ideally LGP customers should quote the LGP contract number on all Requests for Quotes and Purchase Orders. | √ |
A Notice of Participation becomes effective from the day on which LGP provides the Notice of Participation to the approved contractor. | √ |
LGP will advise approved contractors by email of any signed Notice of Participation relevant to their LGP contract. | √ |
Approved contractors should advise all relevant staff, contractors, sub-contractors and agents of the customers who have activated a Notice of Participation. | √ |
A Notice of Participation lapses either at the end of the relevant contract term (inclusive of any extensions available under the terms of the contract) or when notified in writing by the customer. | √ |
Any purchases made prior to the provision of the Notice of Participation are required to be reported to LGP. | √ |
Customers and approved contractors can always discuss the use of the Notification of Participation with their LGP Business Manager. |
LGP has the responsibility to its customers to ensure that all approved contractors are compliant throughout the term of the contract. It is crucial for LGP to ensure that all correct licenses, insurances, qualifications and policies are current.
LGP uses VendorPanel to manage the necessary certifications. Approved contractors are expected to provide evidence of these certificates by uploading them into VendorPanel. They are expected to update them when they expire. The VendorPanel portal will trigger reminders two (2) weeks prior to expiry.
LGP customers may view the details of the insurance. Therefore it is equally important not to disadvantage your organisation’s opportunities by failing to complete this task. The insurance requirements for your contract are listed in Schedule A of your SOD.
Approved contractors are obliged to offer greater value to customers purchasing through LGP arrangements than to individual customers who are independently tendering. This is in recognition of the substantial aggregated buying power of LGP on behalf of the local government sector. Refer to the Best Price Clause in Part 3 Deliverables and Pricing
Where applicable, your pricing schedule as submitted during the RFT process is provided to customers via the secure section of the LGP website when the contract commences.
Generally, the pricing and/or discount is to remain firm for the initial twelve (12) month period. Price amendments are permissible at the contract anniversary or when there are statutory changes such as award changes and the like. Some contracts permit more frequent updates to occur. This can be confirmed in Part 3 Deliverables and Pricing of your SOD.
LGP will notify approved contractors of the approaching anniversary date and provide a window of opportunity to submit amendments. The application to make pricing amendments must be in writing and in the same template. To finalise the process LGP will accept and publish the updated pricing.
It may take up to five (5) working days for this process to occur.
Please contact [email protected] with your request.
It is the intent of LGP that by appointing an entity as an approved contractor, that the approved contractor will always carry out the majority of work. It is not acceptable to subcontract out all or the majority of a customer’s requirement.
The following are requirements that all LGP approved contractors must agree to before authorised agents or subcontractors can be considered:
- Quotes provided to customers must provide confidence that the LGP approved contractor is the party that ultimately prepared the final and complete quote, is the entity that will ultimately contract with the customer and will carry out the majority, if not all, of the work.
- All key correspondence and documents included in a quote or proposal must be on the approved contractors letterhead or document templates.
- The customer purchase order is to be made out to the LGP approved contractor. Where a separate contract document is used (e.g. an Australian Standard), the contractor will be listed as the principal.
- The LGP approved contractor is responsible for any subcontractors engaged and must be able to substantiate their current insurances, licences, work tickets, appropriate qualifications and skills or experience relevant for the subcontracted aspect of the work.
- The approved contractor must name the subcontractors carrying out significant levels or key aspects of the work and which are expected to have staff on site or be in direct communication with the customer.
- Where a particular subcontractor is expected to perform an integral part of the work done on any engagement of the LGP approved contractor, then the subcontractor should be named on the LGP Standing Offer Deed.
- Where the work is to be undertaken on the customer’s site, it is expected the LGP approved contractor’s representative will be present on site, be responsible for the overseeing and directing of subcontractors and remain the official contact for communication with the customer through to completion of the work.
- Invoices presented to the customer must always be on the LGP approved contractor letterhead.
- The subcontractor is aware of and can confirm the terms and conditions of the relevant LGP contract.
If your organisation and the proposed subcontractor/agent/ dealer agree to these requirements, please contact [email protected] to proceed.
Other contract amendments are permissible. They must be formalised in writing. Some reasons for such amendments may include:
- Acquisition of or by another business
LGP is providing access for customers and approved contractors to an innovative gateway for seeking request for quotes (RFQs). It is another way that LGP is achieving better outcomes for local government and approved contractors. The portal, powered by VendorPanel™, offers an easier, faster more targeted way of assisting buyers to select the best available vendors for each procurement activity. Buyers can be confident in the process and security, as can vendors.
Your VendorPanel™ Account
Access is by invitation only. An invitation is sent to the lead contact. The lead is responsible for providing and maintaining their business profile:
- Company logo
- The company business profile
- Insurance information
- Inviting additional colleagues who may also respond to RFQs.
LGP is always happy to assist but there are other ways to learn about the portal. Go to the FAQs in the menu bar of your dashboard. The answers to most questions are there as well as video tutorials.
For technical assistance contact VendorPanel on (03) 9095 6181.
Be advised that all emails generated by the VendorPanel™ portal are from [email protected]. Check that your organisation’s protocols allow you to receive emails from this address.
Click here to meet our Contracts Team
Contact our contracts management team on 02 8270 8717 or via email [email protected] for any general enquiries pertaining to:
- Contract (SOD) Issues
- Contract amendments
- Expanding your deliverable offering
- Pricing amendment requests
- Sub-contractor amendment requests
- Management fee and reporting requirements/Credit requests
- Changes to your business structure
Suppliers who are NOT currently an LGP Approved Contractor
Click here to learn more about Local Government Procurement, the tender process and other frequently asked questions. Please ensure you read the information provided in its entirety before contacting LGP.
Notify Us of a Change
If you have new staff that you need to inform us of, please send an email to [email protected]
Feedback & Review
LGP is constantly reviewing the activity of its contracts and by approved contractors.
When a review occurs it will incorporate the following:
- Reporting, frequency and value
- VendorPanel activity – responsiveness and following protocols
- Council feedback
If you would like to offer some feedback either general or specific to your contract, please fill out this form.
Suggested Reading & References
Marketing and Other Opportunities
LGP expects that having appointed your organisation as an Approved Contractor that you will be active in promoting the Contract and yourself as an Approved Contractor. Your status is privileged and should not be used in unconscionable ways.
The LGP Approved Contractor Logo is provided to the Primary Contact at the time of implementation. Please read the conditions for use of the logo. If you would like to obtain an EPS or Jpeg format of the logo contact [email protected]. The LGP Approved Contractor certificate is provided to the Primary Contact at the time of implementation also. If you would like to obtain a copy contact [email protected]
LGP is unable to provide Approved Contractors with a copy of its database. However, Approved Contractors are encouraged to visit the Office of Local Government website for a comprehensive list of all councils in NSW.
Local Government bodies will have their own websites where some members of staff are named.
Approved Contractors should seek to build their own database and limit marketing to known contacts as opposed to sending unsolicited emails. These may not reach their target or end up as spam.
It is important that as the Primary Contact for your contract with LGP that you and your sales teams understand the benefits for councils when using an LGP arrangement. By including them in the information provided in your encounters, council staff will understand the benefits you bring to them as an Approved Contractor on the panel.
Some of the benefits are:
- There is no cost to access an LGP arrangement
- Pricing is competitive due to the economies of scale
- There is no need for them to run an Request for Tender (RFT) process and they will therefore save time and money
- They will still be able to meet their legislative obligations regarding tendering as required by the Local Government Act (1993). The reason for this is that LGP is prescribed under S55 of the Act.
- Councils have input into the specifications and evaluation of LGP RFTs
- Under diligent management by LGP the council is assured of a quality panel of Approved Contractors
- One set of agreed Terms and Conditions that streamlines process
- Transparency of process via the VendorPanel portal
- Contract is centrally managed by LGP throughout its term
- Reduced risk when tendering as probity and process is managed by LGP
LGP returns a rebate based on the use of its contracts to council customers
The LGP Newsletter is sent monthly to a plethora of staff all NSW councils and LGP Approved Contractors. Approved Contractors are able to submit items that are of benefit to councils i.e. not simply an advert. These items might be:
- A special offer
- Training sessions
- Seminars
- Case studies
There is no charge to include an item in the newsletter. Refer to the format and guidelines for making a submission.
Some other publications for consideration are:
Sustainable Choice assists local government to integrate sustainability into their procurement systems and purchase sustainable products and services. Councils have obligations under the Local Government Act (1993) to consider the principles of Ecological Sustainable Development (ESD). If your organisation has a product or service that has benefits of this kind, visit the Sustainable Choice website and register for the Sustainable Choice Products and Services Database.
LGP hosts an annual conference in October. Approved Contractors are provided first opportunity to secure a trade stand at this event. Contact the LGP Events Team for further information.
Local Government NSW (LGNSW) coordinates a number of local government events and conferences that are specific to NSW local government. Refer to the LGNSW website for these upcoming events that may be of interest to your organisation.
To find out what other events are relevant to you, you may wish to subscribe to or monitor to Conference Alerts.
Let us know when you are attending conferences and events, we would like to hear about your experiences [email protected].
To learn more about the National Procurement Network (NPN), click here.
VendorPanel e-Quotation System
LGP is using an innovative online platform for accessing LGP contracts. This portal (powered by VendorPanel.com) offers an easier, faster and more targeted way of helping council users to select the best available vendors for each and every project, with the confidence and security of drawing from the panel of LGP Approved Contractors.
View the VendorPanel™ explainer video below for more information on how easy it is to use the system.
It’s the easiest way to post a Request for Quote (RFQ) and find the best preferred suppliers and is a preferred way to request quotations.
Some key features for selected LGP Approved Contractors:
- Selected and invited LGP Approved Contractors can create their own secure account
- LGP Approved Contractors get automatically notified of RFQ’s posted by councils for which they are selected
- LGP Approved Contractors can review council requirements, ask specific questions (public), and submit tailored proposals all via their company portal. All opportunities, Q&A and proposals are managed and stored in the system, offering Approved Contractors a simple central repository for all LGP Approved Contractor opportunities
- Submitting proposals is easy using a structured template that requires Approved Contractors to align your relevant experience, ideas, capability and availability with council user requirements
- Approved Contractors are kept up to date of progress and immediately notified if they are shortlisted and invited to contact the buyer directly
- It saves Approved Contractors time and effort accessing an online platform to respond to RFQ’s directly, an easy way to qualify projects, and a smart and simple way to demonstrate why they should be shortlisted and successfully selected.
It’s another way we are achieving better outcomes for Local Government and LGP Approved Contractors through professionally managed procurement solutions for local councils.
LGP recommends a secondary contact is also included to ensure that you don’t miss out on opportunities when you are out of the office – instructions on how to invite an additional colleague can be found in the FAQ section of VendorPanel™.
If you are an Approved LGP Contractor, and would like to register, please contact LGP at [email protected] or on 02 8270 8717.