15.  Tender submission requirements

As part of the RFP response, bidders should be asked to provide a departure schedule which identifies all instances where they have departed from the draft contractual documents included as part of the RFP, including providing the rationale and cost for each departure. Bidders should also be asked to submit fully marked up contract and schedules outlining any instances of departures from the draft contractual documents. Term sheets are sufficient for some of the sub-contracts. While this does consume legal resources at the bidding stage, it leads to a more efficient negotiation stage.

As part of the RFP response, bidders should be asked for evidence of committed finance at bid submission, unless specific project circumstances deem otherwise. This usually takes the form of commitment letters from the providers of both debt and equity. For debt, this is likely to be a firm credit approval or term sheet signed by authorised officers, with clearly defined conditions which government can assess and evaluate. It should be recognised that these commitments generally provide an opportunity for financiers to withdraw from the project, as opposed to fully underwritten bids. For equity, a demonstration of Board commitment and funding capacity would be required.

The specification of a Complying Proposal should be made and assessed in accordance with project evaluation requirements in the RFP and the project teams' evaluation plan. The evaluation plan will need to address how:

•  to assess any mandatory requirements (i.e. lodgement time);

•  to evaluate how well each bid meets the requirements of the RFP and contract (this involves the project team ranking criteria and outlining how to deal with legal and commercial evaluation and design and service criteria); and

•  to evaluate any additional features or enhancements offered.

The Victorian Government Industry Participation Policy (VIPP) applies to all PPP projects. Bidders will be asked to respond on this matter in accordance with the policy requirements that are available at www.diird.vic.gov.au.

Taxation rulings are not typically required at the bid submission stage, however where concerns regarding tax exist, Procuring Agencies may consider a requirement for a tax ruling as a conditions precedent to financial close. The RFP should indicate the government may require this. Procuring Agencies are to consult DTF on taxation issues.