ES2015-2020 Q and As Master

REQUEST FOR TENDER

for Employment Services 2015-2020

Question and Answers

Table of Contents

1. General Questions 2

2. Statement of Requirements - Employment Provider Services 29

3. Statement of Requirements – Work for the Dole 42

4. Statement of Requirements – NEIS 56

5. Statement of Requirements – Other Programmes 70

6. Funding and payments 74

7. Purchasing Arrangements 76

8. Bidding for Business and Tender Evaluation 81

9. Forms 100

10. Maps of Employment Regions 112

11. Technical Questions 114

Page 79 of 115

Questions and Answers relating to the Employment Services 2015 – 2020 Request for Tender

1. General Questions

1.1. Will the recording of this webinar (Quality Assurance) be available afterwards for those who are not available to attend?

Updated response

Yes the webinar will be recorded and made available on the Employment Services Procurement website (www.employment.gov.au/employment-services-procurement-information).

The webinar is now available for viewing.

1.2. I was wondering if you could confirm if the below text from the Communications Protocol applies to organisations and other departments.

• Tenderers or other persons with an interest in the Request for Tender process must not enter into discussions with or otherwise engage in any activity with the Department, persons directly or indirectly involved in the Request for Tender process acting for the Department, and other persons who have been identified as being in positions of potential influence over the operation of the Request for Tender process. Further, the Department will not enter into discussions or otherwise engage in any activity with Tenderers, or such other persons with an interest in the Request for Tender process, where this could be perceived as influencing the operation of the Request for Tender process

Is directing them to AusTender (RFT) and website the best approach for future request? Or should these be sent to the ES Purchasing Hotline/Mailbox.

Persons from other departments that have close association with the Department of Employment and who have been identified as being in positions that have potential influence over the operation of the Request for Tender process should not enter into discussions or engage with potential Tenderers. Such persons should also undertake probity training and complete Confidentiality and Conflict of Interest Deeds.

All questions from potential Tenderers should be directed to the Employment Services Purchasing Hotline. Any organisation requiring a copy of the RFT should download the RFT from the AusTender website (www.tenders.gov.au). Tenderers that have registered via the AusTender website will be provided with details of any alteration, correction or notice in relation to the Request for Tender. Tenderers will be required to log in to AusTender and collect addenda as notified.

1.3. We have a provider which is so currently certified and has no non-conformances arising from any surveillance audit but wishes to submit its tender through its newly-established and wholly-owned subsidiary. The parent company is an incorporated association whereas its subsidiary is a company limited by guarantee. Therefore the corporate regulation of the subsidiary will be governed by the Corporations Act 2001 and the Australia Securities and Investments Commission rather than the less rigorous state-based office of Consumer and Business Affairs. That subsidiary has the same Board and CEO as the parent company and has all the same policies, procedures and systems. The subsidiary will take on all the existing staff of the parent company from 1 July, 2015. In other words, it is essentially the same business as currently exists but the parent company is simply having the operational arm of the business transfer to its subsidiary from 1 July, 2015. The parent company holds the current certifications and is expecting those formal certifications will simply be updated to include the subsidiary when the latter becomes operational from 1 July, 2015.

Question - Given this background, if the business intends to formally submit its tender in the name of its wholly-owned subsidiary, then can it rely on its parent company’s current certifications to secure the full 10% tender score without further addressing criterion 1 or should it address criterion 1 in full?

In accordance with Table 7.2, all Tenderers must answer Criterion 1 once at the Organisational level.

Condition 1 is only applicable to Tenderers that are currently certified against the Department of Employment’s Quality Assurance Framework. The Department’s Quality Assurance Framework includes certification against one of the approved Quality Standards and the Department’s Quality Principles (refer Appendix D, Quality Assurance Framework in the RFT).

Organisations which did not achieve Quality Assurance Framework certification during the 2013 Job Services Australia Quality Standards Pilot (the Pilot), or did not maintain their certification from the Pilot, must respond to Condition 2.

In answering Condition 2, Tenderers must provide detailed information demonstrating that their organisation has the structure, management and systems as well as the skills and capacity and resources to deliver the actions outlined in their tender and deliver the Government’s policies.

Organisations that are not tendering under the same legal capacity under which they achieved their Quality Assurance Framework certification must respond to Condition 2.

In the scenario above, if the organisation tendering (subsidiary company) does not hold certification against the Quality Assurance Framework then it will not be regarded as meeting Condition 1.

1.4. At the Information Session in Adelaide, the presenter alluded to changes since the release of RFT. Are these changes available for perusal or can I request a summary to be forwarded to this email address?

- Job Search Requirements

- Job Seeker Compliance

- Provider Partnerships and Group Tendering

- Services to Job Seeker Cohorts

- Regional Loading

The changes you mention and which were mentioned in the Information Sessions were changes between the Exposure Draft for Employment Services 2015-2020 Purchasing Arrangements released in July 2014 and the Request for Tender (RFT) released on 7 October 2014. Therefore, these changes are all included in the RFT. The Request for Tender Information Session slides and transcript are available at http://employment.gov.au/employment-services-procurement-information.

1.5. Will a copy of the session (Employment Services 2015-2020) or a transcript of the session be available at the conclusion of the session?

The Employment Services 2015-2020 Request for Tender Information Session slides and transcript are available at http://employment.gov.au/employment-services-procurement-information.

1.6. Criterion 1 Governance. If an organisation holds a current certificate against the QAF and an endorsed quality standard such as ISO 9001 but that current certification is with 1 or more minor non-conformances against either or both standards which are expected to be closed out at surveillance audits scheduled after the tender submission date, would the organisation be required to respond to condition 2?

Organisations who are currently certified against the QAF are eligible to respond to Condition 1.

In responding to Condition 1, Tenderers must provide information sufficient to demonstrate continued certification against the relevant Quality Standard. In order to maintain their QAF certification, organisations must ensure that minor non-conformances whether against the relevant Quality Standard or the Department’s Quality Principles are closed out within the timeframes specified by the audit.

1.7. Our question relates to the Employment Services 2015-2020, Section 16 – Consortium, “% Financial share in the group”.

If a Consortium has four members, tendering for the consortium’s regions as below

Member A – tendering for 2 Employment regions

Member B - tendering for 4 Employment regions

Member C – tendering for 8 Employment regions

Member D - tendering for 14 Employment regions

2 + 4 + 8 + 14 = 28.

Therefore, should this form the basis of the % Financial share in the group, eg.

Member A = 2 Employment regions out of the 28 (2 divided by 28) = 7%

Member B = 4 Employment regions out of the 28 (4 divided by 28= 14%

Member C = 8 Employment regions out of the 28 (8 divided by 28) = 29%

Member D = 14 Employment regions out of the 28 (14 divided by 28) = 50%

If not, how should the % Financial share in the group be determined?

The method of determining this may vary between group arrangements and may be based, for example only, on initial contribution of capital, assets to resources to the group by each member or a division based on anticipated business allocation or revenue from the group to each member.

The percentage of financial share in the group is a calculation that will need to be determined between the group members. The Department is unable to give specific guidance on this.

1.8. Section 2.1 of the Audit History form requests if your organisation or Tendering Group have been subject to any audits.

If a Member of the Tendering Group needs to complete details of an audit is the Legal Name completed with the Member’s legal name rather than the Tenderer’s name (as per Part B Section 1.1).

Please confirm if all members must complete an Audit History Form.

The details of any relevant audit should include the Member’s legal name, and should be completed for all Members of a tendering group where applicable.

For audits where the audited entity does not have the same name as the Legal Entity as displayed at the top of the Audit History form, please indicate the name of the audited entity within the ‘Findings’ field.

1.9. At the tender briefing in Adelaide 13 October 2014 it was stated that to meet Condition 1, Tenderers must also have ‘no compliance issues’. How does the Department define ‘no compliance issues’? And what response confirming this is therefore required in Criterion 1?

Organisations that are currently certified against the Quality Assurance Framework (QAF) are eligible to respond to Condition 1. In responding to Condition 1, Tenderers must provide information sufficient to demonstrate continued certification against the relevant Quality Standard. In order to maintain their QAF certification, organisations must ensure that minor or major non-conformances whether against the relevant Quality Standard or the Department’s Quality Principles are closed out within the timeframes specified by the audit.

If a Tenderer meets Condition 1 as stated in the RFT documents and has no compliance issues as defined by the Department, is a response confirming accreditation to the standards listed and stating that the tenderer no compliance issues all that is required in the criterion response?

In responding to Condition 1, Tenderers must provide information sufficient to demonstrate continued certification against the relevant Quality Standard including information to demonstrate that minor or major non-conformances have been closed out where appropriate.

If above is the case and a Tenderer submits the above confirmations, what score out of 10 will the tenderer be awarded?

Tenderers who meet Condition 1 under Criterion 1 will be awarded the full 10 per cent score.

1.10. Please see below a request for clarification with regard to the following section of the RFT 7.10.3

Criterion 1 - Condition 1: Tenderers that are currently certified against the Department’s Quality Assurance Framework need only confirm the currency of their certification, including its continued certification against one of the Quality Standards endorsed by the Department (ISO 9001, the National Standards for Disability Services, the Employment Services Industry Standards or Investors in People).

QUESTION:

Would the Department please confirm the date (prior to the RFT close date of 17 November 2014) by which Tenderers need to submit their external QAF certification reports in order to receive the Department approvals necessary to meet condition 1?

Organisations which did not achieve Quality Assurance Framework certification during the 2013 Job Services Australia Quality Standards Pilot (the Pilot) will not be able to gain certification against the Department of Employment’s Quality Assurance Framework prior to the closure of submissions in response to the Request for Tender for Employment Services 2015-2020 at 5.30pm (Canberra time) on 17 November 2014.

Organisations which do not meet Condition 1 must respond to Condition 2.

Employment Providers will have until 5.00 pm (Canberra time) 1 July 2016 to gain certification against the Quality Assurance Framework.

1.11. We refer to the Quality Assurance Framework outlined for Work for the Dole Coordinators on page 86 of the above document, more specifically to, “..... Quality Assurance Framework for Employment Providers (see Section 2.17.5) will be adapted to apply to the Work for the Dole Coordinators”.

There appears to be no Section 2.17.5 and assume that Section 2.18.5 is the correct reference,

According to Section 2.18.5 (on page 67), “Within 12 months of the commencement of the Deed, Employment Providers will be required to gain certification against the Quality Assurance Framework and maintain certification for the duration of the Deed...... The Quality Assurance Framework comprises two key elements:

• Quality Principles developed by the Department.....

• Certification against one of the Department approved Quality Standards: ISO 9001, the National Standards for .....”

Could you please advise:

To what extent the Quality Assurance Framework for Employment Providers will be adapted for Work for the Dole Coordinators,

Whether or not a Work for the Dole Coordinator will be required to gain certification against one of the Departments approved Quality Standards (for example, ISO 9001) by July 2016.

Addendum 2 to the Request for Tender for Employment Services 2015-2020 includes at Section 5 a number of corrections to section references including:

• Page 86 – Quality Assurance Framework: Section 2.17.5 should read Section 2.18.5.

Appendix D of the RFT outlines the Quality Assurance Framework that will apply to Employment Providers in detail including the seven quality principles.

As stated in section 3.8 of the RFT, the Quality Assurance Framework has been adapted for the Work for the Dole Coordinators programme in that only four of the seven principles will apply:

The Quality Assurance Framework for Work for Dole Coordinators will be based on four of the seven Quality Assurance Framework Principles: