This page will be updated regularly during the tender application period. If
you have a question which you cannot find the answer to, please email
NASSTender@dest.gov.au
To view current Q&A's please select from the category list below.
List last updated: 23/01/2006
Will DEST be requiring all Australian Apprenticeships Centres to become Job Placement Licensed Organisations under this contract?
No! Section 1.4.6 of the Request for Tender states tenderers will not be required to become Job Placement Licensed Organisations in order to provide Australian Apprenticeships Support Services, however tenderers that do not intend to become Job Placement Licensed Organisations must detail the strategies they intend to implement to establish formal linkages with Job Network members and/or Job Placement Licensed Organisations to facilitate Australian Apprenticeships placements.
If an organisation were to become a Job Placement Licensed Organisation would they receive fees from the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR)?
Yes! Job Placement Licensed Organisations are contracted to the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR), requiring them to adhere to DEWR’s contractual requirements, while at the same time receiving payments under the DEWR contract.
If an industry specialised Australian Apprenticeships Centre is approached to conduct sign-ups outside their industry specialisation, can they conduct those sign-ups?
While an industry specialised Australian Apprenticeships Centre cannot actively promote themselves outside their industry specialisation or contracted region, they will be required to provide all requested Australian Apprenticeships Support Services within their contracted region(s).
back to topHow do the regional profiles in Appendix 1.3 of the Request for Tender interact with skills shortages?
DEST recognises that the skills need occupations may be subject to regional fluctuations over time, while the regional profiles in Appendix 1.3 are based on historical data. As such, DEST has requested tenderers to provide benchmarks for skills need occupations as part of their Skills Need Occupations Business Plan. DEST, when monitoring against the Business Plan, will take into consideration any apparent regional shifts in industry profiles.
What level of advice is expected to be provided by Australian Apprenticeships Centres on industrial relations and matters such as Youth Allowance and Recognition of Prior Learning beyond referrals to relevant agencies such as Centrelink and Registered Training Organisations and the Australian Apprenticeships Centre staff being cognisant of information or material in the public domain?
The level of advice to be provided by Australian Apprenticeships Centres on industrial relations is to advise employers and Australian Apprentices of the ways Australian Apprenticeships may be offered by an employer (such as under an industrial award, Australian Workplace Agreement or other form of industrial agreement) and facilitate access to relevant sources for specific industrial relations advice. (Section 1.4.2 of the Request for Tender). This would require Australian Apprenticeships Centres to direct employers and Australian Apprentices to the relevant contact details for specific industrial relations advice.
Australian Apprenticeships Centres would be required to advise employers and Australian Apprentices of the Recognition of Prior Learning process and direct them to relevant Registered Training Organisations for specific information on Recognition of Prior Learning.
Australian Apprenticeships Centres should advise Australian Apprentices that they may be eligible for Youth Allowance and refer them to Centrelink on 133633 for specific Youth Allowance enquiries. (Section 1.4.4 of the Request for Tender). Only Centrelink can provide advice on eligibility for Youth Allowance.
back to topDoes each consortium member have to trade under the same trading name, or can the trading name vary between consortium members?
There is no requirement that consortium members operate under the same trading name.
Within the ACT region there is a Postcode – 2620 (Queanbeyan) which is not in the ACT region. Where do we stand in terms of servicing the ACT region?
If the legal address of an employer’s workplace is located in the ACT, with the postcode 2620, then that business should be serviced as part of the ACT region. If the legal address of an employer’s workplace is located in NSW (Queanbeyan), with the postcode 2620, then that business should be serviced as part of the Illawarra region.
The indicative commencement numbers appear to be three times the figure given for the last financial year. Why have the projected commencement numbers increased in some regions and decreased in other regions?
The commencement numbers in Appendix 1.4 are indicative commencement numbers only. The determination of these numbers was based on the final business allocation for each region under the current Australian Apprenticeships Support Services Contract (2003-2006) and adjusted to reflect the latest data available to DEST. Thus, the commencement numbers in Appendix 1.4 either maintain the indicative number within each region or increase the indicative number in each region when compared to the final business allocations under the current contract.
back to topWill DEST be contracting with more than one tenderer to provide services in the Torres Strait Islands region?
The number of Australian Apprenticeships Centres that will service the Torres Strait Islands region will be determined during the business allocation stage of the evaluation process and will be dependant on the quality of tender applications received for servicing the Northern Queensland region and the sustainability of the market in the Torres Strait Islands region.
What is the definition of subcontracting as outlined under the Australian Apprenticeships Support Services Request for Tender?
"Subcontracting" means an arrangement under which a Australian Apprenticeships Centre (NAC) contracts its obligations under the Australian Apprenticeships Support Services contract to a third party.
Are there any Australian Apprenticeships Support Services that would be accepted in a tender that could be subcontracted out?
No. Subcontracting is not allowed for the provision of any services under the 2006 – 2009 Australian Apprenticeships Support Services (NASS) contract. Section 4.12.1 of the RFT and clause 8 of the NASS draft contract provide that subcontracting of NASS services is not permitted. Australian Apprenticeships Centres must provide the full range of Australian Apprenticeship Support Services to all employers, Australian Apprentices and other interested parties within the region. Please refer to sections 1.4 and 1.7.3.2 of the Request for Tender.
back to topIs it compulsory to have a full time site, part time site, (physical presence) if one were to tender in Industry Specialisation for Metropolitan and all regional Victoria?
Tenderers, whether they are a consortium, single entity, industry specialist or franchise (tendering as a consortium or single entity), must make their own determination about how they will provide coverage for the whole tender Region including the location and hours of any sites they anticipate having in the region. Please refer to section 1.7.5 of the Request for Tender.
Would a franchisee have to have a physical presence in all regions that the franchisor is contracted to, or would they be able to service only the area that they are franchised to?
Tenderers, whether they are a consortium, single entity, industry specialist or franchise (tendering as a consortium or single entity), must make their own determination about how they will provide coverage for the whole tender Region including the location and hours of any sites they anticipate having in the region. Please refer to section 1.7.5 of the Request for Tender.
Would a franchisee be required to support all the range of Australian Apprenticeships Support Services outlined in the tender or is it possible to support only some of the Australian Apprenticeships Support Services?
Tenderers, whether they are a consortium, single entity, industry specialist or franchise (tendering as a consortium or single entity), must make their own determination about how they will provide coverage for the whole tender Region including the location and hours of any sites they anticipate having in the region. Please refer to section 1.7.5 of the Request for Tender. Australian Apprenticeships Centres must provide the full range of Australian Apprenticeship Support Services to all employers, Australian Apprentices and other interested parties within the region. Please refer to sections 1.4 and 1.7.3.2 of the Request for Tender.
As a member of a consortium, would each partner be required to individually service entirely their industry sector and provide physical presence or is it sufficient to jointly use the collective resources of all its partners?
Tenderers, whether they are a consortium, single entity, industry specialist or franchise (tendering as a consortium or single entity), must make their own determination about how they will provide coverage for the whole tender Region including the location and hours of any sites they anticipate having in the region. Please refer to section 1.7.5 of the Request for Tender
How would the role of a franchisee differ from a sub-contracting arrangement that currently exists?
The difference between franchising arrangements and subcontract arrangements is that franchises can only tender through a consortium arrangement and are liable to the Commonwealth jointly and severally (refer section 4.2A.2 of the Request for Tender). Under subcontracting arrangements the Commonwealth’s only contractual relationship is with the head contractor and there is no direct contractual relationship with subcontractors.
back to topKPI 4 – Key Priority Groups are measured against participation rates. Will the participation rates be measured against an Australian Apprenticeships Centre’s business allocation?
Yes. Section 29 of the Australian Apprenticeships Support Services Operating Guidelines provides details of the performance measures for Servicing Key Priority Groups.
How will the disability participation rates KPI be measured?
As per Section 29.5 of the Australian Apprenticeships Support Services Operating Guidelines the benchmarks for servicing people with a disability have been set using self identification on the training contract.
Reference: Sections 1.4.9 of the Request for Tender and 1.6 of the Draft Operating Guidelines. It is stated in the Draft Operating Guidelines that "... an Australian Apprentice is deemed to be a mature aged Australian Apprentice when they are 45 years and over at the Commencement Date of the Training Contract." For the purpose of measuring participation (commencement, retention and completion), is any Australian Apprentice who matches the definition above counted OR does the Australian Apprentice also have to meet the eligibility criteria to receive a 'Mature Aged Worker Australian Apprenticeships Incentive'?
All Australian Apprentices who meet the definition of a mature aged Australian Apprentice, as per the Request for Tender Appendix 6 Draft Operating Guidelines section 1.6, are included for the purposes of measuring participation.
Do Australian Apprenticeships Centres need to meet the percentage in the regional profiles in Appendix 1.3 of the Request for Tender or is an Australian Apprenticeships Centre’s goal to exceed them? What is meant by achieving satisfactory performance in Section 1.7.8 of the Request for Tender?
The purpose of providing the profiles in Appendix 1.3 is to ensure that Australian Apprenticeships Centres do not service a particular industry, age or Australian Qualifications Framework cohort at the expense of another cohort. While DEST expects that Australian Apprenticeships Centres would conduct their business consistent with the profiles of the Region in which they tender, we recognise that there could be variations in performance against the profiles due to regional demographic shifts. In terms of satisfactory performance, a variation of plus or minus 10 per cent on a regional profile percentage may be considered a successful performance outcome.
back to topDoes DEST expect a tenderer to bid a lower unit price for servicing Tier 1?
DEST generally expects that Tier 1 will have a lower unit price than Tier 2. However, this is not a requirement of the Request for Tender, and it will be up to each tenderer to determine its pricing structure noting that the price of services will be a factor assessed in the evaluation of tenders.
Will Australian Apprenticeships Centres receive payment for Australian Apprenticeships commencements which started prior to 1 July 2006 where the service is provided in the 2006 – 2009 contract period?
Services provided to Australian Apprenticeships that commenced prior to 1 July 2006 will attract Round 4 Fee for Service for services provided in the 2006 – 2009 contract period.
Reference: Section 1.8.8 of the Request for Tender. Will existing Australian Apprenticeships Centres receive an advance payment of 5% of the estimated total Contract price OR is the advance restricted to new providers in any given region?
If an existing Australian Apprenticeships Centre is contracted to provide services in a Region where they do not have a 2003 – 2006 Australian Apprenticeships Support Services contract, then they will be eligible for an advance payment of 5 per cent of their total contract price for that Region.
back to topThe Request For Tender makes no reference to the 6 month point contact. Is the 6 month point contact still a requirement?
The Australian Apprenticeships Support Services Operating Guidelines provide details of the servicing requirements for the initial servicing period for each Tier. Section 6 covers Tier 1, while Section 13 covers Tier 2. One of the servicing requirements for the initial servicing period (for both Tier 1 and Tier 2) is for the Australian Apprenticeships Centre to confirm that the Australian Apprentice is still employed at the 6 month point.
Please clarify what is meant by ‘The latter date is to be entered by the NAC into TYIMS for sign-up purposes’ in the context of section 15.6 of the Draft Operating Guidelines.
This sentence at section 15.6 also appears at sections 6.4, 13.4 and 14.4. The sentence should read ‘The latter date is to be entered by the NAC into TYIMS for contact purposes’.
If an Australian Apprenticeships Centre makes a visit to an employer in the Initial servicing period (Tier 2) but is only able to make contact with the Australian Apprentice by phone what percentage of the unit price is the Australian Apprenticeships Centre eligible for?
Both the employer and Australian Apprentice must be visited to attract the 20% Fee for Service payment. In this case, the servicing requirements would not have been met, and the Australian Apprenticeships Centre would only be eligible for 5% of the Fee for Service payment.
For Tier 2 payments will an Australian Apprenticeships Centre receive a completion payment for an Australian Apprentice who successfully completes prior to the 12 month point?
Provided all other contractual requirements have been met, Australian Apprenticeships Centres will receive a completion payment.
back to topWill Australian Apprenticeships Centres receive the completion bonus for Australian Apprenticeships that commenced pre 1 July 2006?
Provided that the successful completion occurs in the 2006 – 2009 contract period the Australian Apprenticeships Centre will receive the completion bonus.
Reference: Section 1.8.1 of the Request for Tender.
If an Australian Apprentice completes at or before the 6 Month Point (i.e. in the Initial Servicing Period), will the Australian Apprenticeships Centre receive both the 6 Month Point Fee and the Completion Fee OR only the Completion Fee?
Where a Australian Apprentice completes the Australian Apprenticeship before the six month point, only a Completion Fee for Service may be payable, provided the servicing requirements for the Initial Servicing Period have been met.
Where a Australian Apprentice completes on the day of the six month point, both the Six Month Point and Completion Fee for Services may be payable, provided the servicing requirements for the Initial Servicing Period have been met.
To receive the completion bonus as stated in Section 1.5 of the Australian Apprenticeships Support Services Operating Guidelines, the Australian Apprentice must be eligible to attract Disabled Australian Apprentice Wage Support (DNAWS). What if the employer/ Australian Apprentice chooses to claim the standard incentives rather than DNAWS?
The bonus for DNAWS is paid in recognition of the administrative work that may be required in servicing DNAWS recipients. In the case where the employer/Australian Apprentice does not seek DNAWS over the contract period the completion Fee for Service bonus would not be paid.
Would an Australian Apprentice who is both an Indigenous Australian and a person with a disability attract two completion Fee for Service bonuses?
No. In this case an Australian Apprenticeships Centre would only be eligible for one bonus Fee for Service payment.
Could you please clarify the following wording that is on page 29 of DRAFT operating guidelines - “tier 2 Fee for Service applies to all Australian Apprentices undertaking an AQF level III qualification and above, as determined by the STA (excluding existing workers)” Does this imply that NAC’s will be eligible for Fee for Service for Diploma’s etc?
Yes. Tier 2 Fee for Service applies to Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) levels III and above, which are under a Australian Apprenticeship arrangement. More correctly, AQF levels III and above are referred to as Certificates III and IV, Diploma and Advanced Diploma.
back to topDo we have to lodge a Risk Management Plan with our tender?
No! Section 1.8.3 requires that successful tenders will be required to provide a Risk Management Plan that will be incorporated in the Contract as a Schedule.
Section 4.7 talks about tenders remaining open until 30 June 2006. Does this mean we could wait until 30 June 2006 to hear if we are a preferred tenderer?
No! DEST presently intends to notify all tenderers of the outcomes of the tender process in March 2006. The purpose of requiring that tenderers keep their tender offers open until 30 June 2006 is to enable DEST to accept any tender offer up to that date (including if DEST proceeds to any other tenderer(s) if negotiations with one or more preferred tenderers are unsuccessful.
Under Section 3.3 – Evaluation Criterion (a), are existing Australian Apprenticeships Centres required to submit up to 3 references?
Yes. All tenderers (whether or not they are existing Australian Apprenticeships Centres) should provide up to a maximum of three written references supporting any claims relating to Evaluation Criterion (a) in Section 3.3.1 of the Request for Tender.
Under Section 3.3 – Evaluation Criterion (a), are tenderers required to submit up to 3 written references for all claims (combined) or 3 written references for each claim?
Tenderers are required to provide a maximum of 3 written references which address all claims, not three written references for each individual claim.
Can an Indigenous Employment Centre tender for the Australian Apprenticeships Support Services contract?
Yes. As mentioned in Section 1.7.1 of the Request for Tender DEST will accept tenders from single entities or collections of legal entities, while employees, subcontractors and agents of DEST are precluded from tendering. An Indigenous Employment Centre, as with any tenderer, will need to mindful of the obligation to service the whole region (Section 1.7.6) and deal with all requests for Australian Apprenticeships Support Services (Section 1.7.3.2). The tender response would need to include a Conflict of Interest Management Plan.
back to topCan an organisation who is currently contracted to provide Job Network services specialising in servicing Indigenous Australians co-locate with their Australian Apprenticeships Centre?
Yes. However, tenderers should refer to Section 2.3 of the RFT for details on Conflict of Interest. Any organisation that is in this situation, or a similar situation, must ensure that they have a Conflict of Interest Management Plan that addresses how they will ensure they have separate phone lines, management structure, filing systems, databases and security systems to protect confidential information. The Conflict of Interest Management Plan will become a schedule to the contract and will be monitored closely by DEST.
Preparing a proper Business Plan takes a lot of time, especially to consult with different stakeholders and we might want to change the Plans after initial submission. What degree of flexibility will there be to vary Business Plans.
The three Business Plans submitted as part of a tender response will be incorporated as schedules to the contract with successful tenderers. After 1 July 2006 any changes to the three submitted Business Plans would need to be done through a contract variation which is agreed to by DEST.
Do tenderers have to use the Business Plan template pro-forma or can we convert it to a Word document so we can insert graphs etc.
Tenderers may convert the template to a Word document. However, DEST requires the format of responses to follow the template.
We can provide part of the Australian Apprenticeships Support Services. Is DEST providing any information on other organisations that also want to provide part of the services?
No. DEST cannot provide this information.
Do you need a particular pro-forma for the written references?
No. There are no specific pro-forma requirements for the written references.
Section 2.3.5 of the Request for Tender notes the requirement to provide a statutory declaration in the appropriate form under Appendix 4 – Tender Application Forms regarding illegal activities, including the use of current or former Australian Government staff in preparing the tender. How much time must elapse before a former Australian Government employer can legally assist in the preparation of a tender?
What is at issue is not how long ago a person was an Australian Government employee, but whether the tender has been prepared with information obtained by that former employee in circumstances that constitute a breach of an obligation of confidentiality on the part of that employee. The provision of Section 2.3.5 would allow information to be provided by a current Australian Government employee, so long as that information was not obtained in circumstances that constituted a breach of an obligation of confidentiality, or was otherwise improperly obtained or provided.
back to topCan an individual member of a consortium tender for the same region as the consortium?
As per Section 4.13.1 of the Request for Tender tenderers can not tender in their own right and as part of a consortium for Australian Apprenticeships Support Services in the same region.
Does question 8 Form A refer to the number of years your business has been a Australian Apprenticeships Centre or how long your business has been operating?
Question 8 Form A refers to how long your business has been operating.
Does question 9 Form A refer to the number of employees employed by your Australian Apprenticeships Centre or employed by your organisation?
Question 9 Form A refers to the number of employees employed by your organisation.
Does the two page limit for key Personnel’s curriculum vitae refer to two pages for all personnel or two pages for each individual person?
The two page limit is for each individual.
Question 13 Form D seems to be repeated elsewhere in the forms. Does this need to be completed in both sections?
All questions on the relevant forms need to be answered.
Section 4.14.6 of the Request for Tender, 'Competitive Neutrality', states that "if a tenderer is a public sector organisation it must demonstrate in its pricing of the tender that the requirements of competitive neutrality have been met." As there is not a provision within any of the electronic forms to confirm compliance with competitive neutrality principles and requirements, should the statement to confirm that a public sector organisation has met such requirements and does not receive net competitive advantages be made within the Conflict of Interest Management Plan?
Yes, such a statement should be made within the Conflict of Interest Management Plan. It should be noted that section 4.14.6 of the Request for Tender also states that the Department may seek to verify that public sector organisations have complied with the requirements of competitive neutrality.
Forms C3 and C4 require specific information, such as a 'Staff CV', 'Business Plans' and 'Conflict of Interest Management Plan', in response to the selection criteria. Should this information be included within the 'text box' provided within each form, or can we include each as 'supporting information' and make reference to them within the response to the selection criteria.
Yes, tenderers can make reference to specific information within their response to the evaluation criteria and include it as an attachment to the relevant form. However, it should be noted that where templates are provided, such as for Business Plans, the format of these templates must be used. Other requirements such as page limits must also be adhered to.
back to topIt is noted that in addition to the paper copies of the application, an Electronic CD ROM is required. Should the CD ROM only include the electronic forms, or does DEST require 'supporting information' to also be included electronically, where possible. Pending your response to my question above, do you require the 'Staff CV', 'Business Plans' and 'Conflict of Interest Management Plan' to be included electronically if these are attached as supporting information.
All information, where possible, must be included electronically on CD ROM.
Can attachments be added to the Business Plans that are in addition to the five or ten page limits? Examples of attachments are Marketing calendar and Action Plan in all three Business Plans.
If a Business Plan has attachments, the total of the Plan and its attachments should not be more than five pages or ten pages as appropriate. Pages in excess of the stated length may not be considered as part of the evaluation of the tender response.
An existing consortium reduces its membership by less than 50%, retains the same Lead Agent, and then tenders under a new consortium name. Is this body regarded as an existing Australian Apprenticeships Centre?
Yes. Although the business name has changed, the legal entities have remained the same. Therefore, under section 1.12.1a the consortium has remained unchanged.
What is the weighting on value for money in the assessment?
As detailed in Section 3.2 of the Request for Tender the evaluation process will include an evaluation against the evaluation criteria as listed in Section 3.3 (each of which are weighted). While value for money does not have a weighting, it will form an important part of the evaluation of a tender.
In Queensland why does a Australian Apprenticeships Centre need both a Blue Card as well as an Australian Federal Police check?
The Australian Federal Police criminal record check is a standard requirement for the Australian Apprenticeships Support Services contract as per section 40.1 of the Australian Apprenticeships Support Services Draft Operating Guidelines at Appendix 6 of the Request for Tender. Queensland has additional requirements due to the legislation - The Commission for Children and Young People Act 2000.
Is an Australian Federal Police check required for all Australian Apprenticeships Centre staff or just those staff who will come into contact with children?
An Australian Federal Police criminal record check is only required for staff who will come into contact with children and young people as per section 40.1 of the Australian Apprenticeships Support Services Draft Operating Guidelines at Appendix 6 of the Request for Tender.
back to topGiven that DEST already collects financial information from publicly funded universities and monitors their financial position, can you confirm that universities are not required to attach interim reports?
DEST already collects financial information from Higher Education Providers approved under the Higher Education Support Act 2003. Those organisations do not need to provide interim reports and need only answer questions 1 to 5 of the financial viability questionnaire (Form D), provide their Australian Business Number at question 7 (b) and sign the Statutory Declaration at question 19.
We are not a reporting entity for accounting purposes - we report on the same basis as a non-reporting association. When we have our reports audited, therefore, we do not have to complete statements of cash flows. Is it mandatory that we provide cash flow statements?
Organisations that do not provide cash flow statements are not automatically excluded from further consideration in the tender evaluation process but it is useful if they are available. It is DEST’s preferred option that these are provided and DEST may have to seek further information if the financial statements submitted do not provide enough detail.
Reference: Appendix 10 - Templates for Business Plans; Business Plan 3 Skills Need - part I, Commencement /Completion Benchmarks. We are asked to nominate benchmarks that we will target over the life of the contract - are the Completion targets to be expressed as a percentage of those who were due to complete in that period, or as a percentage of the business allocation for the total contract?
The Completion targets are to be expressed as a percentage of a tenderer’s tendered “minimum business level” (Section 1.7.10 of the Request for Tender) in the first instance. Once a successful tenderer’s business allocation has been agreed then the percentage would be against the Australian Apprenticeships Centre’s agreed business allocation.
Will the same DEST officer assess all evaluation criteria for an individual tender or will the evaluation criteria be assessed by different DEST officers? If they are assessed by different DEST officers does this require the tenderer to repeat tender responses information across evaluation criteria?
In assessing tenders, DEST will act fairly and be consistent in its dealings with all tenderers. The Tender Assessment Team allocated to a tender response will evaluate the entire tender response (ie responses to all evaluation criteria) for a tender. Tenderers are not required to repeat information that has been provided in other evaluation criteria.
back to topAre we correct in believing that Business Plans and the Conflict of Interest Management Plan are specifically requested as part of the main tender and do not therefore count as 'supplementary material', since there is a limit imposed on the amount of supplementary material?
Yes. The three required Business Plans have page limitations and are to be included as part of the tender along with the Conflict of Interest Management Plan (with no page limitation). It should be noted that the Request for Tender does not place a limit on supplementary material that can be provided with a tender response.
Are we to understand that the Profiles included at Appendix 1.3 of the RFT (and labelled commencements in the 12 months to June 2004) represent the target figures for Profiles for Contract 4? The Request for Tender refers to the Appendix at both 1.7.8 and 3.3.1, suggesting they do.
Yes. The regional profiles at Appendix 1.3 represent the industry, age and Australian Qualifications Framework profiles (expressed as a percentage) that an Australian Apprenticeships Centre’s activity should be consistent with. The regional profiles in Appendix 1.3 will relate to the successful tenderer’s final business allocation.
We wish to present our Australian Apprenticeships Support Services Business Plans in landscape format and with headers and footers suitable for inclusion as Quality Documents in our ISO accredited Quality Management System. Our proposed MS Word format uses the headings and alphabet (A-K) ordering system of DEST's Appendix 10 templates for each plan (and Arial 11 point font) - is this okay?
Yes. Providing the headings of the template are followed you may provide the Business Plans in landscape format.
As part of the Skills Need Occupations Business Plan, Section I "Commencement/Completion Benchmarks", please clarify whether each individual skill need occupation needs its own commencement and completion benchmark, or will it be sufficient for NACs to provide one Commencement percentage and one Completion percentage?
Tenderers are required to provide one Commencement and one Completion benchmark expressed as a percentage of their tendered minimum business level.
Can you please clarify dot point 2 on Form C3 which states “quality assurance and complaints handling mechanisms that are applicable and transferable to changing situations”. Is this referring to a Australian Apprenticeships Centres quality assurance in relation to complaints handling?
No. Tenderers must provide details of both their quality assurance processes and complaints handling mechanisms that are applicable and transferable to changing situations.
Are 3 references required for each tendered region or is it 3 references in total?
Please refer to 3.3.1.a which states that “This criterion should be answered at an organisational level – that is, tenderers do not need to complete for each tendered region”.
back to topCan the Forms at Appendix 4 of the Request for Tender be submitted in word format to allow formatting changes in the response fields to be made? eg dot points, graphs etc?
Yes. In order to allow for formatting of your tender response tenderers can use the following steps: • download Appendix 4 from the DEST website; • save Appendix 4 to your computer in rich text format; • close the saved document; • reopen the saved document; • go to tools on the toolbar and unprotect the document. This will allow you to update the response fields to your requirements. However, it is very important that neither the sequencing nor the formatting of the documents is changed.
Form B2 - Q13 - Statutory Declaration. Where the form refers to 'insert name of tenderer' does this refer to the Consortium leader or the consortium member completing the B2. Who signs the declaration - the consortium member?
Question 13 on Form B2 must be signed by the consortium member not the lead member.
Form D - Q13 - Monies tendered from DEST. Does this question refer to the NASS tender only or all tenders the organisation may be submitting to DEST?
Question 13 only relates to the monies sought under the Australian Apprenticeships Support Services tender.
Form D - Q13 - Monies tendered from DEST. Do the amounts referred to for each financial year relate to the total monies tendered for by the entire consortium or just the portion attributed to the consortium member who is completing the form D?
A Form D must be completed by each individual consortium member (including the lead member), thus Question 13 must be completed by the applicable member (or lead member) of the consortium. The amounts to be inserted in Question 13 would be the proportion of the total bid for that individual member.
Form D - Q19 - Statutory Declaration - Same question as for the form B2, is it the member organisation that completes this section and signs it?
Form D must be completed by each individual consortium member (including the lead member), thus Question 19 must be completed by the member, or lead member, of the consortium as applicable.
Does each consortium member need to trade under the same title or can they operate with separate trading names?
There is no requirement for each consortium member to have the same trading name.
back to topAre three references required for each region tendered for or three reference in total?
As per 3.3.1 (a) of the Request for Tender, tenderers should answer this criterion at an organisational level – that is, tenderers do not need to complete for each tendered region.
For each tendered region we are required to submit separate forms C1 and C4. How do we duplicate these electronic forms?
You can copy the forms by doing the following steps: • download Appendix 4 from the DEST website; • save Appendix 4 to your computer in rich text format; • close the saved document; • reopen the saved document; • go to tools on the toolbar and unprotect the document. This will allow you to update the response fields to your requirements as well as separate and copy the different forms. However, it is very important that neither the sequencing nor the formatting of the documents is changed.
With reference to the three boxes at Appendix 4, Form D Part B, question 13, for 2007, 2008 and 2009, please clarify as to whether the amounts nominated in each year reflect the estimated combined price of Tier 1 and Tier 2 in the given year. Does each box give the opportunity to allow for price increase each year (CPI, running costs etc) and if so how do we differentiate between Tier 1 and Tier 2 within each box? 1
In response to the first question, the boxes at Form D Part B, question 13, do reflect the estimated combined price of Tier 1 and Tier 2 for each given year. In response to the second question, the tendered prices entered in the three boxes at Form D Part B, question 13, cover the total costs for the three years of the contract. There is no provision for price increases each year.
The Business Plans at Appendix 10 contain a set of prescribed headings that must be addressed as a minimum requirement. Can these be exceeded with the provision of further information relevant to the particular plan? 2
The prescribed headings for the Business Plans cannot be exceeded. Please refer to the Request for Tender Appendix 10, section 1.6.5.4 'In submitting the above Business Plans, tenderers must follow the Business Plan templates and guidelines provided in this Request for Tender.'
Appendix 4, Form C1 part 2 asks for “Total minimum business level”. Is this a contract total figure or an annual figure? 3
The total minimum business level is the business level sought for the full period of the contract.
back to topAs there is no template for the curriculum vitae required at Appendix 4, Form C3, does DEST require information pertaining to staffs' 'personal details' (address, phone number, email etc) and 'referee contact details', or is DEST only interested in information pertaining to qualifications, work history, industry experience etc for the purposes of the tender? 4
The structure of the Curriculum Vitae is left to the discretion of the tenderer, however DEST does not require personal details or referee contacts to be included in them.
Reference: Appendix 10 Business Plan 1 - Marketing & Promotion of Australian Apprenticeships Business Plan. Are we able to combine answers for H. Marketing Calendar and J. Action Plan or are we suppose to repeat the answers for H & J? 5
With reference to the Business Plans, where information has already been provided, tenderers may refer back to the relevant heading. In this example, at the heading J Action Plan, the tenderer would still need to have the heading 'J Action Plan', and under this heading they could include a statement such as 'refer to H Marketing Calendar for details'.
Reference: Appendix 10 - Templates for Business Plans and Business Activity Reports; Business Plan 3 Skills Need - part I, Commencement/Completion Benchmarks. Q1. Do we supply a single benchmark (ie. just one percentage figure) for Commencements and Completions for the contract period or should it be broken up into 6 monthly periods? Q2. Do we also supply benchmark figures for Retention?
The Commencement and Completion benchmarks are to be expressed as a percentage of a tenderer’s tendered “minimum business level” (Section 1.7.10 of the Request for Tender) in the first instance. Once a successful tenderer’s business allocation has been agreed then the percentage would be against the Australian Apprenticeships Centre’s agreed business allocation.
In response to the third question, tenderers are not required to provide benchmark figures for retention.
Does the Marketing and Promotion of Australian Apprenticeships Business Plan, at Appendix 10, cover the first twelve months of the contract period or the entire contract period.
All three Business Plans are to cover the entire contract period. It is the Business Activity Reports, detailed at Appendix 10 ‘Performance Reporting – Business Activity Reports’ that cover the three twelve month performance reporting periods.
back to topReference: Appendix 4 Form E Request for Tender Checklist. The second page of the checklist includes a table for the time taken to complete the forms. Is it expected that the checklist be returned as part of the tender package? I note that most of the forms include a box for the time taken to complete the individual form. However, these data are asked for on behalf of the Office of Small Business. Small business is considered to be a business with less than 20 employees.
The Office of Small Business requires this information. It is expected that the Time Box that records the time taken to complete the forms will be completed by relevant organisations and returned as part of the tender response. Relevant organisations are those organisations that employ less than 20 employees. The time Box at Form E includes the addition of the Forms A, B1, B2, C (C4 in this case), D, E, and F.
Reference: Appendix 10 Templates for Business Plans and Business Activity Reports. Business Plan 1 C. Market and Competitor Analysis. While the market analysis is fairly straight forward and supported by the sub headings, can you give guidance about what a ‘competitor’ analysis should address.
Please refer to the Request for Tender sections 2.1 Disclaimer and 4.3 Onus on the tenderer.
Where tender response forms have been saved electronically individually, would DEST require the forms to be merged back into one document as part of their tender submission?
The Department does not have a preference between the forms being saved individually and them being merged into one document.
Does the department have a preference for the method of binding for the tenders?
The Department does not have a preference for the method of binding for the tenders, however the Registration and Compliance teams will remove tenders from binding and folders.
Where a tenderer is submitting a tender for more than one region, is there a prescribed order in which the documents are expected to be presented.
The Department’s preferred option is that the documents be presented in the order as set out in the Request for Tender.
Arial 11 is the font required to be used when completing the body of text in the RFT response. Does the same apply with regard to the text and numbers contained within tables including that within the marketing calendar?
Arial 11 is the font to be used when completing the body of text in the RFT response and this also applies to text and numbers contained within tables including that within the marketing calendar.
back to topQuestion 14 on Form A (Individual Organisation) asks: "Does your organisation have a contract extending beyond 1 July 2006 with any public funding bodies (Australian Government, State, Territory or Local Government) to provide similar services to those covered in this Request for Tender?" What is meant by "similar services"?
"Similar services" means services which by their nature are similar to the services of an Australian Apprenticeships Centre as described in this Request for Tender. What services are by their nature similar is a matter for tenderers to consider.
Reference: Appendix 1 Map 14 Northern Queensland. The Note on this map says: Torres Strait has been excluded from this tender. Alternative arrangements to service this region will be arranged after contracts for Round 3 have been issued. This is inconsistent with section 1.7.6.1 Torres Strait Islands.
Please ignore the Note on Map 14 Northern Queensland, Appendix 1. Consistent with the Request for Tender section 2.4 Inconsistency, the sections in the body of the Request for Tender take precedence over the appendices. Please refer to section 1.7.6.1 Torres Strait Islands.
Can the business plans required in Form C4 be attached to the form, or does it have to be included within the form. Also, the CV's required in Form C3, can they be attached also, or do they have to be outlined within the form.
The Business Plans can be attached to the relevant forms. The curriculum vitae can also be attached.
Can you please confirm that the 'total monies sought from DEST', as per Q13 of Form D, is calculated directly from 'Total minimum business levels' and the $ Unit Price, as requested in form C1.
To determine and input amounts into the 'total monies sought from DEST', as per Q13 of Form D, you could calculate your expected number of Tier 1 and Tier 2 commencements (by taking into consideration the Tier 1 and 2 numbers for your tendered region tabled in Appendix 1.4) that make up your total minimum business level. Once this is done, you should multiply each determined number for each Tier by the corresponding unit price for each Tier. The total of the two calculations could then be used to input the 'total monies sought from DEST' in Q13 of Form D. You should also see Sections 1.7.10 and 1.8.8 of the Request for Tender which relate to the aspects that DEST will take into consideration when determining the "estimated Total Contract price" for successful tenders.
back to topCan an organisation’s Real Time Interface system upload information into TYIMS?
No. The withdrawal of DEST support for RTI means that: • no third party RTI systems will be able to download from TYIMS; • no third party RTI systems will be able to upload/process to TYIMS; • Australian Apprenticeships Centre users will be required to work online in TYIMS to capture data; • the code tables will be available daily by accessing TYIMS online; and • the daily and weekly bulk extract files will be available by accessing TYIMS online only.
What are the implications for data entry for Australian Apprenticeships Centres as a result of the partial removal of support for Real Time Interface systems. Will it require NACs to enter data into both TYIMS and their own data managements system (if they have one)?
Section 1.10.3.3 states that while Australian Apprenticeships Centres will be required to capture data through TYIMS, DEST will provide bulk data transaction files to Australian Apprenticeships Centres to enable them to update their own data management systems. The bulk data files will be available for download on a daily and weekly basis and this data will be able to be uploaded into the Australian Apprenticeships Centre’s own data management system. This means that the data which DEST requires Australian Apprenticeships Centres to maintain will be entered directly into TYIMS. Any additional information that Australian Apprenticeships Centres decide to collect for their own business purposes will need to be entered into their own data management system.
How will the Daily and Weekly download files be made available? Will they need to be downloaded manually by a user logging into TYIMS or will they be made available to automate similar to how they are currently?
The daily and weekly bulk extract files will only be available by accessing TYIMS online.
Will the Daily and Weekly download files be in XML format or .CSV Format or another type of format?
Bulk extract files are currently available in XML format however DEST is currently investigating the option of making the bulk extracts available in CSV format.
back to topWill DEST supply a simple View Transaction where we can Refresh the data in our third party database during the day, by sending a query to TYIMS, which will then download a file? For example, do a "VIEW" Transaction on a specific registration?
No. There will be no "view" transactions available through an interface arrangement.
Can we create a potential new Employer Record and/or a potential Australian Apprentice name and address record off-line and send it up to TYIMS?
No. There will be no "create" transactions available through an interface arrangement.
Our 3rd party software was used in Round 3 to provide a Diary facility which was interactively updated via the TYIMS RTI facility. The RTI is proposed to be withdrawn in Round 4. Will TYIMS provide a Diary that interfaces with our Outlook Calendar?
No. There will be no interface arrangements between TYIMS and third party software products in the Australian Apprenticeships Support Services 2006 – 2009 Contract period.
When will the Technical Specifications for downloading process of Bulk weekly and daily files be made available?
The TYIMS technical specifications for downloading bulk weekly and daily extract files are currently being developed. The specifications will be made available following announcement of the outcomes of the Request for Tender 8029.
Will the Claim Forms like the 1236 be made available or downloadable in a WORD Format?
No. All claim forms will be available online in PDF.
We assume there will be a Training Database. Will it be possible to download Bulk/Weekly files from the Training Database, for purposes of developing/testing the local 3rd party software?
The tyims-training.dest.gov.au/freeplay training environment will continue to be available during the 2006 - 2009 Australian Apprenticeships Support Service Contract period. The tyims-training.dest.gov.au/RTI server will not be available from 1 July 2006. A process for making bulk extract files available in Freeplay is currently being developed. DEST will advise of the process following announcement of the outcomes of the Request for Tender 8029.
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