Answer
What is the Commonwealth procurement threshold?
From 17 November 2025 it is $125,000 including GST for non-corporate Commonwealth entities, $400,000 for some prescribed corporate entities, and $7.5 million for construction. Above it, Division 2 of the Commonwealth Procurement Rules applies.
Below the threshold only Division 1 of the Commonwealth Procurement Rules applies, so the buyer can approach the market however it judges will deliver value for money, including going straight to a panel or a single supplier. At or above it, Division 2 adds prescriptive process rules and the buyer must normally run an open approach to market on AusTender with minimum response times.
Every threshold is GST inclusive, which trips up suppliers constantly, because pricing schedules are almost always ex GST. A $120,000 ex GST quote is $132,000 including GST and sits above the $125,000 threshold.
The value tested is the estimated maximum value of the whole procurement, including every option and extension, not the first year. Splitting a procurement into pieces to stay under a threshold is expressly prohibited.
Below threshold does not mean invisible. Every contract of $10,000 including GST or more is still published as a contract notice on AusTender, normally within 42 days.
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