You may have seen an 'Invited Tender' on our website with very little information and no useful link and wondered what are they and how to get an invite. An Invited Tender can also be called a Selected, Restricted or Limited Tender.
What are 'Invited Tenders?'
These are tenders which are not open for anyone to bid and to which only selected or invited organisations can tender. Unfortunately, if you are not invited you can’t tender and it is likely you will not be able to get an invite once the tender has already been issued. In most cases, you are not able to access the tender documents from the portal on which they are published without a special password.
We endeavour to maintain a comprehensive database of every tender in Australia and this includes all different types of tender including invited tenders. We include invited tenders so that you can at least identify tender opportunities that you are missing out on and also identify potential sub-contract opportunities.
There are a number of circumstances that may give rise to an Invited Tender:
- The tender may relate to a panel arrangement, common use agreement or standing offer arrangement through which only suppliers who have already been approved are invited to tender.
- The tender may be a limited tender in which a government agency makes a direct approach to a supplier(s) of their choice. Limited tenders usually only occur in very specific circumstances, such as under extreme urgency or if goods and services can only be provided by one supplier.
- The tender may in fact be below the financial threshold for a tender and whilst it is called a “tender” the procurement process being followed is that of for a quote and is being sent to invited organisations only.
What CAN you do? There is no harm in contacting the issuer and asking to be invited (however gatecrashing is not an option). Whilst it is unlikely that they will extend you an invitation you can at least ask how you can get on the invite list for the next tender!
