Make a procurement complaint

Suppliers, members of the public and procuring agencies have the right to make a complaint about any Queensland Government procurement process.

Our complaints framework ensures everyone plays by the rules of the Buy Queensland 2023 approach to government procurement.

The Queensland Government is committed to supporting ethically, socially, and environmentally responsible Queensland businesses. The Ethical Supplier Mandate (PDF, 870KB) (the Mandate) and the Ethical Supplier Threshold (PDF, 1MB) (the Threshold) support the Queensland Government’s principled approach to procurement outlined in the overarching Queensland Procurement Policy (QPP).

What to make a complaint about

Complaints about the ethical conduct of government suppliers

The Threshold and the Mandate establish the standard of ethical behaviour required of all suppliers while under contract with the Queensland Government. Therefore, complaints about unethical supplier behaviour must relate to a supplier contracted to a Queensland Government project.

The Procurement Investigation Unit (PIU) investigates all alleged breaches of the Threshold and incidents of non-compliance under the Mandate on behalf of all procuring agencies across the Queensland Government, including all state-controlled entities.

Below are some examples of supplier behaviour that are commonly at the source of complaints received by the PIU. These examples constitute breaches and non-compliances, which will be investigated by the PIU where there is sufficient evidence the supplier has engaged in:

• underpayment of employee wages below those provided for in applicable industrial instrument
underpayment and non-payment of the super guarantee for eligible employees
• treatment of persons as independent contractors when they are actually employees (i.e. sham contracting)
• breaches of the Queensland Government Supplier Code of Conduct
• conduct that indicates other non-compliances under the Mandate (see Section 4.1: Categories of non-compliance and applicable demerits) and breaches of the Threshold (see Section 2: Application of the Threshold).

How to make a complaint

If you need to report alleged breaches of the Threshold or non-compliances under the Mandate, contact the PIU directly:

• phone 1300 105 030 (option 1) Monday to Friday 8.30am–5pm
• email QPPCompliance@epw.qld.gov.au.

When submitting a complaint to the PIU, it is important the following information is supplied:

• details of the complainant or the referring procuring agency
• details of the relevant government project or contract
• details of the complaint or the allegation
• evidence that supports the complaint, where available.

Anonymous complaints cannot be actioned under the Mandate except where there is sufficient, verifiable, and available evidence of unethical supplier behaviour to enable an investigation to commence.

A procurement complaint can be made to the PIU if it relates to the QPP 2023 and if the procuring agency has not addressed the complaint.

We assess and refer complaints about the application of the QPP, including:

• supplier or agency behaviour (e.g. not providing quality local jobs)
• agency decisions (e.g. not buying local)
• and
• non-compliance with the QPP and the Buy Queensland 2023 approach.

Timeframes and investigation

The PIU endeavours to acknowledge the receipt of a complaint within 3 business days and will subsequently assess the complaint details alongside any evidence submitted by the complainant. Where additional information is required, an investigation officer will contact the complainant to discuss any issues.

The PIU conducts its investigations in accordance with the processes established in the Mandate’s guidelines and standard operating procedure.

All investigation outcomes are communicated to the complainant and/or the procuring agency.

Complaints about government procurement and other QPP-related complaints

The options outlined below apply to all other government procurement and QPP-related complaints, including complaints about:

• supplier or agency behaviour (e.g. not providing quality local jobs)
• agency decisions (e.g. not buying local, tender outcomes)
• non-compliance with aspects of the QPP and the Buy Queensland 2023 procurement approach.

How to make a complaint

Option 1: Raise your concerns with the procuring agency

In the first instance, all complaints should be made to the procuring agency responsible for the procurement process.

To make a complaint, refer to the procurement documents containing the details of the procurement officer or complaints officer and communicate your complaint to that person. Complaints will be managed according to the complaint management policies of each procuring agency.

If the contact details of a procurement officer or complaints officer are not provided, check the 'contact us' section of the agency's website for information on where to make your complaint.

If your complaint relates to an unsuccessful offer, you must first request feedback about your offer from the government agency that managed the relevant procurement.

Option 2: Submit a complaint via the government complaints process

Information about making a complaint, including general complaints about procurement, is available for suppliers and members of the public from the dedicated whole of government complaints process webpage.

Complaints can be submitted by:

• completing the online complaints form
• phoning 13 GOV (13 74 68)
• using any other method listed on the complaints process webpage.

Complaints and concerns about the ethical behaviour of a government supplier cannot be submitted using any of the methods listed on the government’s complaints process webpage. For more information, refer to complaints about the ethical conduct of government suppliers above.

Option 3: Pursue further options

Depending on your situation, if you still have concerns after taking these steps, then consider contacting:

• the Queensland Ombudsman, which investigates complaints about actions and decisions of Queensland public agencies that may be unlawful, unreasonable, unfair, discriminatory or otherwise wrong
• the Crime and Corruption Commission, which investigates concerns about official misconduct
• the Queensland Human Rights Commission if the department fails to a human rights complaint.

Confidentiality

Complaints will be dealt with in a confidential manner that is respectful to both the complainant and the respondent. Reasonable steps will be taken to protect information from loss, unauthorised access, use, disclosure, or any other misuse during the complaint handling process. However, the PIU cannot give an assurance of absolute confidentiality given its statutory and procedural fairness obligations.

There may be instances where we need to provide information to third parties, such as a regulator, therefore any information we provide will be in accordance with the Information Privacy Act 2009 and the Queensland Government's privacy statement.