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

I thank Senator Siewert for her question. If we are talking about the new employment services, the employment services procurement is a robust and thorough process oversighted by an external probity adviser. The department manages the process entirely and it is difficult to be able to comment on specific outcomes before they are finalised by the department itself. I am advised that the tender process for employment services in 2009 to 2012 is still underway and DEEWR has not yet made any final decisions. Of course, in accordance with the RFT, preliminary and without prejudice advice to preferred tenderers was provided on Monday last. This allows the department to undertake negotiations where required with preferred tenderers before final decisions are made.

Of course, the tender process is, by design, competitive and I am confident it will deliver quality providers to meet the needs of job seekers and employers. The new employment services are a result of extensive consultation with industry and stakeholders and support of the new approach has been high, demonstrating the confidence the market has in the new employment services. I will take the specific question on notice and see if I can provide greater detail from Minister O’Connor, although it will depend very much on, I suspect, what information can be provided before a final decision is made with respect to that matter.