An invited tender is a procurement process where only selected suppliers are invited to submit a bid. Unlike open tenders, these opportunities are not available to the general public.
If your organisation is not invited, you generally cannot:
In most cases, once an invited tender has been issued, it is too late to request inclusion in that specific opportunity.
Invited tenders are common in Australian government procurement and private sector contracting. They usually arise in specific procurement scenarios.
Many invited tenders are issued through:
Common Use Agreements (CUAs)
Standing Offer Arrangements (SOAs)
Only suppliers who have already been pre-qualified or appointed to the panel are invited to respond. If you are not on the panel, you will not receive an invitation.
A limited tender occurs when an agency directly approaches one or more suppliers without running an open process.
This may happen when:
Limited tenders are governed by procurement rules such as the Commonwealth Procurement Rules (CPRs).
Sometimes a procurement is labelled a “tender” but is actually:
These processes are often informal and invitation only.
At Australian Tenders, we maintain a comprehensive database of tenders across Australia, including:
Even though you may not be able to bid on an invited tender, there is strategic value in tracking them.
Invited tenders help you:
This insight can inform your business development and tendering strategy.
While you cannot “gatecrash” an invited tender, there are still proactive steps you can take:
There is no harm in reaching out professionally to:
While it is unlikely you will be added to an already issued invitation list, you may:
To increase your chances of receiving invitations:
Tendering success often starts before the tender is released.
An invited tender is not open to the public but it is still valuable intelligence. By monitoring invited tenders, understanding panel arrangements, and positioning early, you can move from being excluded to being shortlisted in future procurement cycles.
If you want to learn more about how we can help your tendering process, drop us a line via email here. Alternatively, check out our free "Introduction to Tendering" eBook. It has everything you need to know about procurement and getting started on your journey. We want you to win, and we're here to help you.