Procurement policy
The Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital’s purchasing policies are based on Health Purchasing Victoria’s (HPV) set of Purchasing Policies designed specifically for the health sector, to deliver greater value for money from procurement activity and also to meet the rigorous standards of probity as highlighted by Victorian Auditor-General’s Report (VAGO) dated October 2011.
The five new policies are stated below:
1. Procurement Governance
2. Procurement Strategic Analysis
3. Market Approach
4. Contract Management
5. HPV Collective Agreements
Where available, the hospital will use group or collective buying arrangements such as:
- HealthShare Victoria (HSV) the HPVC contracts – legislatively mandated to use
- Victorian Government Purchasing Board (VGPB) contracts. Please note that HSV may mandate the hospital to use some of these contracts. (Refer schedule to HSV purchasing policy 5.)
- Other group buying services e.g. through arrangements with other hospitals, local sourcing or by accessing the services of Industry Capability Network (ICN), Business Victoria (BV) or Victorian Government eServices.
The Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital is developing a Social Procurement Strategy that will comply with the requirements of the Victorian Government’s Social Procurement Framework. The Framework clearly defines social and sustainable procurement as a key value-for-money component, and how it can make a difference to Victorian communities. It states that “For buyers, the framework provides the guidance to embed social and sustainable procurement into existing processes. And for suppliers, the framework informs them of the methods to deliver Government objectives, while continuing to grow their business by participating in government procurement.”
Information about the Framework including a copy of it, and information for suppliers can be found here: Victorian Social Procurement Framework
Procurement activity plan
The HPV’s Governance Policy requires that Health Services publish a summary of procurement activities planned to be conducted over the forthcoming 12-18 months.
The aim of the plan is to provide potential suppliers with an overview of the types of procurement activities (goods and services only) that the Health Service may undertake over this period. The plan will be updated from time to time to reflect other planned procurement activities.
| Description of Activity | Anticipated Procurement Activity Start Date FY |
| Surgical Equipment Ophthalmic | QTR 1 FY 2324 |
| Pathology | QTR 2 FY2324 |
| Hospital Support Services | QTR 2 FY2324 |
| Offsite Records Storage and Services | QTR 4 FY2324 |
| Internal Audit Services | QTR 1 FY2425 |
All planned procurement activities are subject to revision or cancellation. The information in this procurement activity plan is provided for planning purposes only and it does not present a solicitation or constitute a request for proposal, nor is it a commitment by the Hospital to purchase the described goods or services.
This Procurement Activity Plan will be updated and reviewed as required.
Expected market approach
The hospital has identified the Estimated Date of Approach to Market for financial year periods and for the four (4) quarters ahead:
- Quarter 1 – July to September
- Quarter 2 – October to December
- Quarter 3 – January to March
- Quarter 4 – April to June
Procurement complaints process
Complaints will be handled in a consistent, fair and transparent manner using the following process:
- All complaints are recorded into the hospital’s incident register.
- Hospital acknowledges receipt of the complaint.
- Designated investigation officer may throughout the course of their investigation require to meet with the complainant to either clarify any issues of seek further information.
- All complaints will be dealt with in a timely manner.
- If the complaint cannot be resolved to the satisfaction of both parties, Eye and Ear will refer to Health Purchasing Victoria.
The Eye and Ear will maintain a record of all complaints received related to each procurement activity indicating whether the complaint:
- was resolved,
- is still under investigation, or
- could not be resolved.
Supplier’s responsibilities
Suppliers to the Eye and Ear hospital are responsible for:
- ensuring compliance with Eye and Ear’s OHS standards, procedures and practices
- making appointments before attending the hospital and signing in at security
- providing OHS information to The Eye and Ear that is relevant to the contract when requested.
- ensuring they have the required qualifications, training, experience and certificates of competency required for the job
- successfully completing the hospitals OHS Contractor Induction and completing and submitting SOPs, JSAs as appropriate and in accordance with procedures prior to the commencement of any works
- not placing themselves or others at risk of injury and reporting any incidents, injuries or non-compliances to the Facilities Manager and/or the Facilities Safety Officer.
- expects that its suppliers will be aware of and comply with the Victorian Supplier Code of Conduct. Information about the code can be obtained here: Victorian Supplier Code of Conduct.
For more information, please email: purchasing@eyeandear.org.au
Modern Slavery Policy
The Eye and Ear is committed to preventing and addressing modern slavery risks in our operations and supply chains. You can read more about modern slavery here.
