2.1.  Roles of Agencies in PPP Procurement

Generally, the procuring agency has overall responsibility for delivering a PPP and for ensuring the project will meet its service requirements. Agencies that are not accredited (by Department of Finance and Services) under the NSW Government Procurement Guidelines for either the planning or delivery phase may be required to engage external support, depending on the risk profile of the project.

Where more than one agency is involved in a project's service delivery outcomes, the Director General of NSW Department of Premier and Cabinet will appoint an agency to lead the project and convene a project's steering committee. The other agencies will be represented as members on that committee.

In certain circumstances, the Premier may authorise Infrastructure NSW under Part 5 of the Infrastructure NSW Act 2011 to "step in" to deliver major projects. Such instances include where there is no clear majority stakeholder for a project or the particular agency lacks the required skills or capacity.

The Infrastructure Financing Unit of NSW Treasury is responsible for ensuring that agencies adhere to the processes set out in the NSW Guidelines and the National Guidelines, and is the first point of contact in NSW for PPPs. Treasury assists agencies with commercial/financing advice on PPPs through the preparation of required documents, the Public Sector Comparator (PSC) and participating in the tender and negotiation process. An experienced member of the Infrastructure Financing Unit will also be a member of the steering committee for each project.  The level of assistance provided by Treasury will vary according to the procuring agency's level of relevant experience.

The Auditor General is responsible for certifying the accuracy of the Contract Summary prepared by the procuring agency. The procuring agency may consult the Auditor General early in the process on the likely contract structure and the proposed accounting treatment for the PPP.

Other agencies, like the Major Projects Coordination Unit of the Department of Premier and Cabinet may also be involved in a PPP. This will be determined on a case by case basis.