Harry Dunstall, Special Counsel to the CEO Defence Materiel Organisation (DMO), is working to provide Defence procurement and contracting officers with better guidance on ASDEFCON template selection and conducting tenders over the Christmas stand-down.

DMO is currently preparing updated template selection guidance to ensure the most appropriate templates are used in future acquisitions.  As part of this update, DMO has also committed to priority training in order to support its staff having the necessary skillsets to conduct procurement, including through ASDEFCON training courses.

New ASDEFCON templates are also being developed to fill the gaps between the simpler procurements and the more complex ones.  For example, DMO recently released the ASDEFCON (Shortform Goods) and ASDEFCON (Shortform Services) templates (available from the Defence Contracting web page) to assist in streamlining lower risk procurements.  A number of additional ASDEFCON templates are also being considered.  This will ensure that there is an improved range of templates available dependant on the risk and complexity of the procurement.

Special Counsel has responded to Defence industry concerns by issuing a Departmental Procurement Policy Instruction (DPPI 3/2009) to DMO staff providing guidance on non-urgent, non-operational procurement activities conducted during the Christmas/New Year stand-down period, which is when Defence and industry often plan for extensive staff leave activity.  In particular, the Christmas stand-down period within DMO will now not be counted as part of the minimum time for a tender to be open to the market.

He has also agreed that “DMO will not release or receive tenders in the week before or after the Christmas stand-down period, with the exception of critical operational requirements that have been approved by the Special Counsel.”