How to Read AusTender Contract Notices Like a Competitor

Commonwealth entities must publish a contract notice on AusTender for every contract valued at $10,000 including GST or more, normally within 42 days of entering into it. Over a year that is tens of thousands of notices, published as open data. Almost nobody outside the largest suppliers reads them systematically.

What is in a notice

• The buying agency and its ABN
• The supplier and its ABN, which makes competitor tracking exact rather than name matching
• The value in AUD, GST inclusive
• The contract start and end dates
• The UNSPSC category
• The procurement method: open tender, limited tender or prequalified tender

The end date is the signal

The contract end date is the single most valuable field. It means the forward pipeline of expiring Commonwealth work is a matter of public record. A contract ending in March will typically be approached to market months before then, and you know exactly who the incumbent is and what they are being paid.

Filter contract notices in your UNSPSC categories by end dates in the next six to twelve months and you have a target list nobody handed you.

The method tells you how the market really works

Notices record whether the contract came from an open tender, a limited tender or a prequalified tender. If most spend in your category came through prequalified tenders, then the panel is the market, and getting onto it matters more than your win rate on open tenders.

The supplier ABN makes competitor analysis exact

Because both parties are identified by ABN, you can build a precise picture of a competitor: which agencies they serve, what they charge, how long their contracts run, and whether their position is growing or eroding. Name based matching in other countries is guesswork by comparison.

One caveat on value

Published values are GST inclusive and reflect the contract as reported, including amendments where they have been published. Your own pricing schedule is almost certainly ex GST, so convert before you compare or you will conclude you are cheaper than you are.