Small businesses feel excluded from Canberra’s “in-crowd” of suppliers and say competition mechanisms — including the Albanese government’s latest attempt — are being overlooked.
A new paper reveals the frustrations in an $80 billion annual spend, including complaints of uncompetitive panel arrangements, an opaque tender pipeline, large companies using wholly-owned subsidiaries to exploit SME exemptions, and “personal relationships” impacting contract decisions.
The objections come amid multiple procurement scandals and confirmation local firms have effectively been locked out of another technology project.
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