How does the Australian Government evaluate tender responses?

Conditions for participation come first and they are binary. Insurances, licences, accreditations, financial capacity, legal status and sometimes security clearances. A response that misses one can be excluded before the evaluation criteria are read at all, however good the rest of it is. Read them before you decide to bid.

The evaluation criteria and their weightings are published in the request documentation, and the buyer must evaluate against them and nothing else. Each criterion normally has its own response section, often with its own page or word limit.

The governing standard in the Commonwealth Procurement Rules is value for money, which explicitly includes whole of life cost, fitness for purpose, the supplier's experience and performance history, flexibility and risk. Cheapest does not win by default, and a response that undercuts on price while scoring weakly on the stated criteria does not represent value for money.

Compliance with the mechanics still matters. Answer the criterion that was asked, give evidence rather than assertion, stay inside the limits, and lodge before the closing time in the jurisdiction the notice states.