The change is aimed at delivering communications campaign services to federal entities via an “integrated village model.” Credit: Thinkstock
The federal government is planning changes to its advertising procurement system, creating an “integrated village model”.
The department of finance, which oversees tenders for advertising services, running to the hundreds of millions of dollars each year, has released an open request for tender for a new panel of suppliers under a restructured whole-of-government model.
A Government Communications Campaign Arrangement (GCCA) will replace the existing Government Communications Campaign Panel (GCCP) and is aimed at delivering communications campaign services to federal entities via an 'integrated village model'.
Six thematic villages will be established and grouped under the banners of 'Building Our Community', 'Economy', 'Government Programs and Services', 'Health and Wellbeing', 'Infrastructure and Innovation', and 'Security'.
Suppliers will be sought across five service categories: creative advertising, market research, public relations, multicultural communications and First Nations communications.
The initial contract will run for four years from July 1, 2026, with extension options of up to a further four years.
The tender does not impact UM‘s role as the federal government's master media agency. UM remains the appointed agency under the current contract, which is due to run to June 30, 2028, with an option for a four-year extension.
The current model has a mandatory panel of 20 approved suppliers used for campaigns valued at $500,000 or more and was overseen by the department’s communications branch.
The new panel structure has not yet been publicly detailed, but the new arrangement could signal potential changes to supplier engagement, procurement processes and campaign governance.
The move is part of a broader government effort to modernise and streamline communications procurement.
Creative development for government campaigns are typically outsourced to agencies via separate procurement processes.
Treasury appointed The Monkeys on a $3.2 million contract to deliver an integrated campaign for the “Future Made in Australia” initiative.
BMF, Clemenger BBDO, Ogilvy, TBWA, Laundry Lane, VMLY&R, Carbon Media and The Monkeys all shared in federal government advertising spend, according to numbers released by the Australian National Audit Office.
Spending by the federal government on media campaigns increased almost 40% last financial year, according to numbers released by the Australian National Audit Office.
The department of finance reported $173.8 million was spent on advertising campaigns in 2023-24 and a further $76.6 million on “consultants, services and other costs”, raising the spent to $250.6 million.
This marked an increase on the $179.3 million spent the previous year but remains below the pandemic-driven peak of $339.2 million in 2021-22.
The department of finance oversees the Central Advertising System, a coordinated procurement model designed to leverage whole-of-government media spend and secure competitive rates.
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