Credit: Serina Bird via Unsplash
The Department of Finance has confirmed it will appoint only one provider per service category in each “village” under its revamped Government Communications Campaign Arrangement (GCCA), despite allowing agencies to tender for multiple categories and villages.
In a detailed industry Q&A, the department reinforced its strong preference for single-service specialisation, meaning a successful tenderer is likely to win work in only one service category and one village, AdNews can reveal.
“Finance’s preference is to appoint successful tenderers to provide only one service category for only one village,” the department stated.
The move is designed to promote supplier diversity, but it has drawn concern from integrated agencies with cross-category capabilities, which may be disadvantaged by the rigid structure.
While agencies can submit tenders for multiple villages and service lines, the department made clear that appointments across multiple areas would be rare and at its “sole discretion.”
And suppliers cannot nominate different service preferences for different villages, a limitation driven by the structure of the 360 Public Portal submission system.
This makes it difficult for agencies to tailor their offering to areas where they may provide the most value.
The department rejected suggestions that supplier selection should reflect population distribution across states and territories, reiterating that capability and value for money are the primary criteria.
Each village will include only one supplier per service category, and collaboration between suppliers, such as between a creative agency and a multicultural communications provider, will depend entirely on the campaign brief from individual government departments.
Tenderers are permitted to reuse case studies across Villages if relevant, though evaluation will be specific to each category and village.
Strict rules will also apply to the number and type of work samples submitted.
Work samples for market research can be de-identified to preserve client confidentiality.
While agencies may use offshore resources, privacy, data security and local presence obligations still apply under the head agreement.
The department confirmed that financial statements are required for viability assessments. A letter from an accountant is not sufficient and conflicts of interest, particularly where one entity may be shortlisted for multiple roles within the same village, will be scrutinised.
No timeline was provided for panel appointments, though finalisation is expected later this year.
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