Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee, , 48:28 to 51:25
Inquiry into the costs of My Aged Care promotional products and the department's compliance with procurement rules for office furniture.
Topics: Procurement, Health
Speakers: Senator Chris Gatenby, Ms Rachel Balmanno, Ms Amy Laffan, Unknown Speaker, Senator The Hon Anne Ruston
Can I just go back to quickly? Can I just confirm with the My Age care magnetic notepads? Um that was 2,000 of them have been printed in the contract's about $28,000. So that's about $14 per notepad. Is that an unusually large amount of money for a notepad, or are there other costs involved in terms of design and other things that you might be able to elaborate on, Miss Lapham?
The total cost includes some other my age care branded products?
Okay. Well what were they?
Uh there was uh mini key change, keychain and torch, pocket tissues, magnifying bookmarks, tote bags, pens, and keychains lens cheap key chain lens cleaner.
And there are two thousand of each of those.
2,000 each of those. Okay. Would we be able to get a breakdown of that on notice? Um for us, that would be really handy. Um I'm just yeah, that's obviously why there's a it's not just two between two thousand, it sounds like there's a number in there. Um it's one final contract that I've got. It relates to furniture and the contract for 360. I think it's 375,000. Sorry, 329,000 at CN 405619. Um supply and delivery of furniture. Can the department outline the steps it took to ensure the tender was in compliance with Commonwealth procurement rules? In relation to security policy and environmentally sustainable procurement policy?
So I'd need to check on that specific tender, but that is part of our broad procurement guidance in terms of those things. This furniture purchase will be part of the what has been a progressive six-year programme to refit our office premises around the country.
So it's countrywide.
So this is, I suspect this furniture purchase is in having to check the timing will be in run of the sites that are towards the end of that programme. So I'd need to check specifically on which site that relates to.
And so is the department aware of concerns that the Australia Furniture Association has raised in relation to the procurement rules and monitoring and enforcement of those policies and regulations?
I'm not personally aware, Senator, but I can take it on notice. I'm not aware of those concerns, no. We certainly engaged with some concerns from other sectors earlier about the sorts of solid stone bench tops, solid bench tops, surface bench tops that we used and those sorts of things. But I'm not aware of these specific ones.
Okay. Thank you. That's Chair, that's what I heard.
Thank you.