What's in this guide
- What is a government tender?
- Are you actually eligible?
- Documents you need ready before you start
- How to write a capability statement
- Using AI tools to help with the writing
- How to price your submission
- How government evaluation and scoring works
- 7 mistakes that can weaken a first tender
- Your pre-submission checklist
What is a government tender?
When a government agency needs goods, services, or works, it may publish an approach to market and invite businesses to submit a formal offer. In everyday language, that offer is usually called a tender.
The agency sets the rules in the request documents: deadline, submission method, mandatory requirements, evaluation criteria, and contract terms. The decision is usually about value for money, which means price matters, but so do quality, risk, experience, and whether the proposal fits the job.
Contract values vary widely, from routine maintenance and service jobs through to large, complex projects. For a first bid, the practical question is not the dollar value alone. It is whether you can meet the mandatory requirements, price the work properly, and show evidence that you can deliver.
Are you actually eligible?
Open tenders are often available to registered Australian businesses of different sizes. You do not need to be a large company, but you do need to satisfy the conditions in that particular tender. These are common items to check before you spend time writing:
- Active ABN, registered for GST if your turnover is over $75k/year
- Public liability insurance with cover typically ranging from $5 million to $20 million depending on the contract
- Relevant trade licences for the relevant state (electrician, plumber, builder's licence etc.)
- WorkCover / workers compensation insurance if you have employees (some tenders require it even for sole traders)
- A WHS (Work Health & Safety) policy or safety documentation that matches the work and the buyer's requirements
If you meet the mandatory requirements and can show relevant evidence, you can make a serious decision about whether the tender is worth bidding.
Documents you need ready before you start
The biggest time-waster in tender applications is scrambling for documents at the last minute. Set up a folder right now with the following and keep it updated. Many tenders will ask for some combination of identity, insurance, capability, pricing, and compliance evidence:
Company / identity documents
- ABN confirmation letter from the ATO
- Business registration certificate (if applicable)
- Trade licence certificates (state-issued)
Insurance certificates
- Public liability insurance certificate of currency
- Workers compensation / WorkCover certificate
- Professional indemnity (if relevant to your trade)
Company profile documents
- Capability statement (see section 4)
- List of past projects with brief descriptions and approximate values
- 2-3 referee contacts from past clients
Policy documents
- WHS (Work Health & Safety) policy
- Equal opportunity / non-discrimination statement
- Environmental management policy (larger tenders)
The policies sound daunting but they don't have to be long. A single A4 page for each saying you're committed to the relevant standard, signed and dated, may be enough for simpler low-risk work. Use the tender documents as the authority if they ask for a specific system, certificate, or format.
How to write a capability statement
A capability statement is a short document (typically 2-4 pages) that summarises your business, your services, and your track record. You write it once, keep it updated, and reuse it when it helps answer the criteria. Many applications ask for one directly, and others ask for the same information in forms.
Structure it like this:
1. Business overview (2-3 sentences)
Who you are, where you operate, how long you've been in business. Keep it factual.
2. Core services
A clean dot-point list of exactly what you do. Be specific: "residential and commercial electrical installations, switchboard upgrades, solar installations" beats "all electrical work."
3. Key projects
3-5 past jobs described in 2 sentences each: what the project was, what you did, and the approximate value or scale. Include dollar figures where you can. Evaluators use them to gauge whether you've handled work at a similar size.
Example: "Completed a full electrical fitout for a 12-unit residential development in Penrith, NSW. Scope included mains supply, switchboard installation, internal wiring, and safety inspection. Project value: approx. $85,000."
4. Licences and certifications
List all relevant licences with licence numbers. This saves them having to ask.
5. Contact details
Name, phone, email, ABN, website. Make it easy.
Getting the writing done faster
The hardest part of your first tender submission is the writing. Most tradies are better with their hands than with a keyboard, and that is fine. The good news is that most of what you write for one tender is reusable in the next.
Practical approaches that work:
- Build a template library. Write your capability statement, WHS policy, and standard tender responses once. Tweak them for each new submission. After a few tenders, you can build answers for common questions and keep improving them.
- Keep a project log. After every job, write a short summary: client, scope, value, outcome. When a tender asks for relevant experience, you pick from the log instead of writing from memory.
- Get someone to proofread. A second pair of eyes catches errors you can miss after staring at the same document for hours. This could be a colleague, partner, or AI writing tool. What matters is that the final submission is clear and error-free.
How to price your submission
Government tender pricing can be a lump sum, a pricing schedule, a schedule of rates, or a mix of those formats. Many maintenance and services tenders ask for a schedule of rates, which is a breakdown of your pricing by line item. This lets them compare submissions directly and apply your rates to future variations.
A schedule of rates might look like:
- Labour rate, licensed electrician (per hour)
- Labour rate, apprentice (per hour)
- Call-out fee
- Standard materials at cost + margin % or fixed markup
- Travel / mobilisation (per km or fixed allowance)
The most important thing: don't undercut yourself to win. Government agencies do not always award to the cheapest. They award to the best overall value. Pricing too low raises questions about whether you have allowed for the full scope, compliance, and overhead.
Know your minimum viable hourly rate before you start. If you've never calculated this, it's: (annual expenses + desired income) / billable hours per year. That's your floor. Don't go below it regardless of how attractive the contract looks.
How government evaluation and scoring works
Many government tenders use evaluation criteria, and some publish weightings or relative importance. Evaluators assess your submission against the criteria in the documents, after checking any mandatory requirements.
A typical weighting structure for a small works contract:
| Criterion | Example Weighting | What they're looking for |
|---|---|---|
| Price / value for money | 30-40% | Competitive rates, clear pricing, no surprises |
| Relevant experience | 25-35% | Similar jobs, similar scale, demonstrated results |
| Capability / methodology | 15-25% | How you'll approach the work, your processes |
| WHS and compliance | 10-20% | Policies, licences, insurances all in order |
| Local / SME preference | 0-10% | Some councils give weighting to local businesses |
These weightings are illustrative only and vary between agencies and contracts. The important part: price is only one part of value for money. A clear response with evidence of experience, capability, risk control, and fit for purpose can beat a cheaper but weaker submission. The written response matters.
7 mistakes that can weaken a first tender
Government portals often close automatically at the stated time, and late responses are usually not accepted unless the tender process expressly allows it. Set a calendar reminder for 48 hours before close so you have time to troubleshoot any upload issues.
Tender questions are specific. "Describe your quality assurance process" does not mean "tell us how good you are." Evaluators score against what was asked. If you do not address it directly, your response may score poorly or be treated as non-responsive for that criterion.
An expired insurance certificate can make your response non-compliant if current cover is mandatory. Check expiry dates before every submission.
Evaluators can usually spot generic, vague answers. Tailor your capability statement and methodology response to each specific contract. A focused tailoring pass can make the relevant evidence much easier to find.
When asked for references, some small operators either skip it or put down someone who doesn't know they've been listed. Contact your referees first and brief them on the contract. An unanswered referee call can weaken confidence in your submission.
Government tender documents are long for a reason. The scope, exclusions, and special conditions are all in there. Quoting without reading them fully leads to either underpricing (you'll be stuck with it) or overpricing on things that aren't actually in scope.
If you don't win, ask the buyer for feedback or a debrief through the process they provide. You may learn where your response was strong, where it fell short, and what to improve next time.
Your pre-submission checklist
Run through this before you hit submit on any tender:
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