Joe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Manager of Government Business in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

Think of it this way: a contract is how you manage the providers and the outcomes. If there is to be an identified change, there is a variation to the contract that the parties agree to, so there is full knowledge of these types of things. It is a way of ensuring that the contract is the central part of it. The legislation does not provide the framework. The contract is the system that provides what the service provider has to meet. It provides what the government expects the service provider to do. If contract negotiations are required, they will take place. If there are eventualities or circumstances that arise, they are dealt with by the parties through contract negotiations. If there is a requirement for a variation, contract negotiations will again be the outcome. You have to think of it as being based around the contract. That is the ‘instrument’. We call it that, but it is a contract. The detail is in the contract. The parties will manage the contract.