3.1.  Overview

Government approval will be required at various project milestones throughout the PPP procurement process. The Government approval process and required documentation is illustrated in Figure 3.1 and Table 3.2.

Further information on the documentation requirements at each decision point is provided in section 4 of the NSW Guidelines, and in the more detailed National Guidelines.

The Cabinet approval process for funding public infrastructure projects and for PPP delivery of that public infrastructure and related services is detailed in section 3.2.  Generally, a Cabinet sub-committee with specific mandates (as outlined in sections 3.2 and 3.3) provide approval at the various milestones. However, Cabinet has discretion over whether a full Cabinet approval is required for a particularly significant PPP transaction milestone(s).

Separate Cabinet steps can be combined in some cases, such as when an agency has already advanced project planning and documentation (perhaps because the project is similar to an existing PPP).  It may also occur when the funding decision and the procurement decisions are linked (such as for road PPPs funded by user charges).

With respect to PPPs procured by SOCs or other public trading enterprises with a Board of Directors, approval by the Board is required prior to requesting Cabinet approval at each phase outlined in Figure 3.1 and Table 3.2.

In NSW, PPPs also require statutory approvals under the Public Authorities (Financial Arrangements) Act 1987 (PAFA Act) and, if applicable, the State Owned Corporations Act 1989 (SOC Act), as detailed in section 3.4 and 3.5.

Environmental and planning approvals (see section 3.7) will be required throughout the procurement process. Gateway reviews should also be conducted at various checkpoints1.

Figure 3.1 Phases of Government Approval

 

# Approvals of some phases may be combined.  Further Cabinet approvals may be required for any changes in key assumptions, proposed contractual terms and conditions and/or significant revisions of the Public Interest Evaluation. For further details, see section 3.3.

^  Approval for this phase is only required for very large projects, where there are a large number of bidders, divergent proposals to consider and/or where non-standard key commercial terms need to be endorsed. See NSW Treasury for further guidance.

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 1 The Gateway review process is outlined in http://www.nswprocurement.com.au/Government-Procurement-Frameworks/Gateway-Review.aspx and Treasury Circular 10/13 Gateway Review System.