In responding to a tender, there may be specific contractual conditions or clauses included as part of the tender. These are normally captured in Part C of the tender documents.
Your response to the tender should generally provide a specific response in relation to:
- Contractual clauses you seek to change
- Contractual clauses you are unable to accept
- New contractual clauses you seek to have included.
There are some clauses in government contracts that reflect legislation and therefore cannot be altered. For example a clause that advised of the rights of the Auditor General to review a contract could not be removed.
The ability to reach agreement on contractual terms is essential if you are to have any chance of being selected as the successful tenderer. Your bid may be highly innovative and price competitive but if you present an unacceptable contractual risk to government, your bid may be set aside.
Whilst government has significant buying power and power within markets, it seeks to act reasonably when finalising contracts.
