Critical Incident Procurement Policy
Context
During a critical incident, streamlined and flexible procurement policies and processes are required to ensure that all necessary actions can be implemented:
- to coordinate relief efforts in response to a disaster or emergency,
- maintain the operation or restore the functioning of the department as soon as practicable
This Critical Incident Procurement Policy establishes an alternative procurement process to operate during a critical incident and in relation to any subsequent relief effort. The processes under this policy aim to accommodate urgent procurement needs, while ensuring that the procurement process adopted is reasonable and conducted with appropriate consideration of good practice purchasing principles.
The Critical Incident Procurement Policy can be activated for all departments or for a specific department depending on the incident.
1. Actions that cause the policy to come into effect across all departments:
- A state of disaster declared under the Emergency Management Act 1986.
- Notification by the Secretary DTF or Deputy Secretary DTF or Executive to the VGPB after informing the Chair or member of the VGPB.
- An incident that requires activation of a Department’s Business Continuity Plan.
- An incident declared by an accountable officer where the safety or security of any person or property associated with the department is threatened.
- An external incident for which an accountable officer has authorised the provision of urgent support.
Action under situation 1 does not require a formal declaration by each an every accountable officer to activate the Critical Incident Procurement Policy within a department.
Action under situation 2 assumes that the incident is department specific and requires a formal declaration by the department’s accountable officer.
The policy applies to purchases that are required as part of a Department’s immediate and required response which may extend to on-going relief effort associated with the incident.
The termination of procurement activity under the policy will need to consider at what point in time normal procurement processes are able to effectively respond to any critical incident or related relief effort. This decision will reside with the person or party who activated the policy in the first instance.
It is expected that Departments will have business continuity or contingency plans in place for critical incidents that directly affect the department. Business continuity plans may establish particular arrangements for the sourcing of urgent supplies and concluding action under the policy.
To the extent possible, processes outlined in this policy should be integrated with Departmental business continuity or contingency plans. The processes under a business continuity or contingency plan take precedence over this policy.
However, the policy has applicability where no business continuity or contingency plan has been developed or where the procurement arrangements under a business continuity or contingency plan are insufficient to enable the required response.
As defined in the Financial Management Act.
Key Requirements
1. Critical Incident Procurement Process
The procurement process to apply under this policy is detailed in Figure 1.
Figure 1
2. Critical Incident Procurement Protocols
As with all procurement, the procurement process adopted during a critical incident should be undertaken in accordance with the core principles of the Public Administration Act, and all decisions taken must be governed by the overriding principles of integrity, non corruptibility and impartiality. The procurement process adopted during a critical incident should also be aligned to the Critical Incident Procurement Protocols outlined in Figure 2.
The Critical Incident Procurement Protocols balance the need for consideration of standard VGPB purchasing principles with the need for expediency. They aim to ensure that the key issues that are integral to achieving an appropriate and defensible outcome are considered during a critical incident without imposing restrictive or time consuming requirements.
Officers need to be cognisant of the protocols to the extent possible given the nature and urgency of the procurement.
Figure 2.
Other Requirements
Nil
Related VGPB Policy and DTF Guidelines
Nil
Related DTF Templates and Forms
Critical Incident Procurement Record and Approval Form (39 KB DOC)
Links to relevant websites
Nil
Version Control Information
 Version Number | 2 |
Release Date | June 2009 |
Further Information | Strategy and Policy, Government Services Division, Department of Treasury and Finance |
Phone | (+613) 868 32944 |
| vgpb@dtf.vic.gov.au |
