{"id":"procurement-act-1995","name":"Procurement Act 1995","slug":"procurement-act-1995","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"nt","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":30450,"registerId":"nt-procurement-act-1995-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-01","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Procurement Act 1995","content":"NORTHERN TERRITORY OF AUSTRALIA\nPROCUREMENT ACT 1995\nAs in force at 30 November 2018\nTable of provisions\nPart 1 Preliminary\n1 Short title ......................................................................................... 1\n2 Commencement .............................................................................. 1\n3 Interpretation ................................................................................... 1\n4 Delegation ....................................................................................... 2\n5 Exemptions ...................................................................................... 2\nPart 2 Procurement\n6 Procurement Review Boards ........................................................... 2\n7 Requisitions for supplies .................................................................. 2\n8 Tender requirements ....................................................................... 2\n9 Certificate of exemption relating to inviting tenders ......................... 3\n10 Details of certain contracts to be published ..................................... 3\n11 Procurement directions .................................................................... 3\nPart 3 Miscellaneous\n12 Regulations...................................................................................... 3\n13 Continuation of Procurement Review Boards .................................. 4\nENDNOTES\n\n\n\nNORTHERN TERRITORY OF AUSTRALIA\n____________________\nAs in force at 30 November 2018\n____________________\nPROCUREMENT ACT 1995\nAn Act to provide for the procurement of supplies for the purposes of\nthe Territory and agencies, and for related purposes\nPart 1 Preliminary\n1 Short title\nThis Act may be cited as the Procurement Act 1995.\n2 Commencement\nThis Act shall come into operation on the commencement of the\nFinancial Management Act 1995.\n3 Interpretation\n(1) In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears:\nprocurement directions means directions issued under section 11\nby the Minister.\nProcurement Review Board means a Procurement Review Board\nestablished or continued in existence by this Act.\nrequisition means an authority to acquire supplies.\nsupplies means a requirement of the Territory or an Agency,\nincluding goods, works and services, and consultancies, provided\nor to be provided to the Territory or Agency.\ntender means an offer to provide supplies at a stated or calculated\nprice.\nthis Act includes the Regulations.\n(2) Where a word or expression used in this Act is not defined in this\nAct but is defined in and for the purposes of the Financial\nManagement Act 1995, then, unless the contrary intention appears,\nthat word or expression has the same meaning in this Act as it has\nin the Financial Management Act 1995.\n\nPart 2 Procurement\nProcurement Act 1995 2\n4 Delegation\n(1) The Minister or a person on whom a power is conferred or a\nfunction imposed by this Act may, in writing, delegate to a person or\na person from time to time holding or acting in a named office,\ndesignation or position the power or function.\n(2) A power or function delegated under this section, when exercised\nor performed by the delegate, shall, for the purposes of this Act, be\ndeemed to have been exercised by the Minister or person who\ndelegated the power or function.\n(3) A delegation under this section does not prevent the exercise of a\npower or the performance of a function by the Minister or person\nwho delegated the power or function.\n5 Exemptions\n(1) The Minister may, in writing, exempt an accountable officer from the\nneed to comply with a provision of this Act and, while the exemption\nremains in force, the accountable officer is not required to comply\nwith the provision.\n(2) The accountable officer for the Agency administering the\nIndependent Commissioner Against Corruption Act 2017 is exempt\nfrom the need to comply with this Act in relation to the acquisition of\ninvestigative, legal and audit services.\nPart 2 Procurement\n6 Procurement Review Boards\n(1) The Minister may, in writing, establish a Procurement Review Board\nor such number of Procurement Review Boards as the Minister\nthinks fit for the purposes of this Act.\n(2) A Procurement Review Board shall be constituted in accordance\nwith this Act.\n7 Requisitions for supplies\nSupplies for the Territory or an Agency shall not be acquired except\nby a requisition issued in accordance with this Act.\n8 Tender requirements\nSubject to this Act, an Accountable Officer shall ensure that tenders\nfor the acquisition of supplies are called in accordance with this Act.\n\nPart 3 Miscellaneous\nProcurement Act 1995 3\n9 Certificate of exemption relating to inviting tenders\n(1) Where the Minister is satisfied that it is inexpedient to invite tenders\nin accordance with this Act, the Minister may dispense with all or\nspecified requirements of this Act relating to tenders by the issue of\na certificate of exemption.\n(2) Where a certificate of exemption is issued under subsection (1), the\nrequirements or the specified requirements of this Act, as the case\nmay be, need not be complied with.\n10 Details of certain contracts to be published\nThe Minister may direct the disclosure of such information in\nrelation to contracts for the procurement of supplies as the Minister\nthinks fit.\n11 Procurement directions\n(1) The Minister may, from time to time, issue directions with respect to\nthe principles, practices and procedures to be observed in the\nprocurement of supplies by and on behalf of the Territory and\nAgencies.\n(2) Subject to this Act, all Accountable Officers and employees shall\ncomply with the procurement directions.\nPart 3 Miscellaneous\n12 Regulations\n(1) The Administrator may make regulations, not inconsistent with this\nAct, prescribing all matters:\n(a) required or permitted by this Act to be prescribed; or\n(b) necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or\ngiving effect to this Act.\n(2) Without limiting the generality of subsection (1), the Regulations\nmay make provision for and in relation to:\n(a) the establishment, the membership and the powers and\nfunctions of Procurement Review Boards;\n(b) the circumstances in which tendering processes are required\nor may be dispensed with;\n\nPart 3 Miscellaneous\nProcurement Act 1995 4\n(c) the responsibility of employees and other persons in the\npurchasing and procurement process;\n(d) existing contractual arrangements for supplies;\n(e) the documentation of orders, exemptions and other supply\nprocedures and the provision of information; and\n(f) the disclosure of information.\n13 Continuation of Procurement Review Boards\nA Procurement Review Board established under regulation 10A of\nthe Treasury Regulations and in existence immediately before the\ncommencement of this Act shall continue in existence, constituted\nin the same manner and with the same powers and functions as it\nthen had, as if established under this Act.\n\nENDNOTES\nProcurement Act 1995 5\nENDNOTES\n1 KEY\nKey to abbreviations\namd = amended od = order\napp = appendix om = omitted\nbl = by-law pt = Part\nch = Chapter r = regulation/rule\ncl = clause rem = remainder\ndiv = Division renum = renumbered\nexp = expires/expired rep = repealed\nf = forms s = section\nGaz = Gazette sch = Schedule\nhdg = heading sdiv = Subdivision\nins = inserted SL = Subordinate Legislation\nlt = long title sub = substituted\nnc = not commenced\n2 LIST OF LEGISLATION\nProcurement Act 1995 (Act No. 3, 1995)\nAssent date 21 March 1995\nCommenced 1 April 1995 (s 2, s 2 Financial Management Act 1995 (Act\nNo. 4, 1995) and Gaz S13, 31 March 1995)\nIndependent Commissioner Against Corruption (Consequential and Related\nAmendments) Act 2018 (Act No. 3, 2018)\nAssent date 21 February 2018\nCommenced 30 November 2018 (s 2, s 2 Independent Commissioner\nAgainst Corruption Act 2017 (Act No. 23, 2017) and Gaz S94,\n30 November 2018\n3 GENERAL AMENDMENTS\nGeneral amendments of a formal nature (which are not referred to in the table\nof amendments to this reprint) are made by the Interpretation Legislation\nAmendment Act 2018 (Act No. 22, 2018) to: ss 1, 3 and 5.\n4 LIST OF AMENDMENTS\ns 5 amd No. 3, 2018, s 22","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains focused on its original purpose of providing a framework for government procurement. The only amendment noted (section 5 in 2018) added a specific exemption for the Independent Commissioner Against Corruption, which is a targeted adjustment rather than scope creep. The Act continues to operate as a skeletal framework with operational details delegated to regulations and ministerial directions."},"complexity_factors":["Short statute with only 13 sections across 3 Parts","Minimal defined terms (only 5 explicit definitions in section 3, plus borrowed definitions from the Financial Management Act 1995)","Simple structure: preliminary matters, procurement rules, miscellaneous provisions","Limited cross-referencing (primarily to the Financial Management Act 1995 and regulations)","Broad discretionary powers granted to the Minister (exemptions, directions, establishment of Boards) rather than complex conditional logic","No nested exceptions or intricate procedural requirements in the primary legislation (details left to regulations)","Straightforward delegation provisions without complex limitations"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this law does:**\n\nThis is the Northern Territory's **Procurement Act 1995**, which sets the rules for how the NT Government and its agencies buy goods, services, and works (collectively called \"supplies\"). Think of it as the rulebook for government shopping.\n\n**Key things it covers:**\n\n*   **The basics:** It defines key terms like \"supplies\" (goods, works, services, consultancies), \"tenders\" (formal offers to do work for a set price), and \"requisitions\" (official approvals to buy something).\n*   **Who's in charge:** The **Minister** has broad powers to make rules, grant exemptions, and set up **Procurement Review Boards** (panels that can review purchasing decisions).\n*   **How buying works:** Government agencies generally must:\n    *   Use official \"requisitions\" (written approvals) to buy things\n    *   Call for tenders (competitive quotes/bids) when acquiring supplies\n*   **Exceptions:** The Minister can issue **certificates of exemption** to skip tender requirements if it's \"inexpedient\" (impractical or not sensible) to follow normal rules. The Act also automatically exempts the Independent Commissioner Against Corruption from these rules when buying investigative, legal, or audit services.\n*   **Transparency:** The Minister can direct agencies to publish details of certain contracts.\n*   **Delegation:** The Minister can delegate powers to other officials.\n*   **Regulations:** The Administrator can make detailed regulations covering things like how Review Boards work, when tendering can be skipped, and record-keeping requirements.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n\n*   **NT Government agencies** and their \"accountable officers\" (senior officials responsible for spending)\n*   **Suppliers and contractors** who want to sell to the NT Government\n*   **The Minister** responsible for procurement\n\n**Why it matters:**\n\nThis Act ensures taxpayer money is spent properly through competitive processes, while allowing flexibility when rigid rules don't make sense. It balances accountability (making sure government shopping is fair and transparent) with practicality (allowing quick purchases when needed)."},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"Yes. Section 5 was amended to add a targeted exemption: the accountable officer for the Agency administering the Independent Commissioner Against Corruption Act 2017 is exempt from compliance with this Act for acquiring investigative, legal and audit services (s 5(2); see Endnotes listing the 2018 amendment). This narrows the Act's application to that Agency for those services while leaving the Act's general procurement framework intact."},"complexity_factors":["Broad Ministerial discretion to issue procurement directions and dispense with tendering (ss 9, 11)","Specific exemption power for accountable officers and a targeted statutory exemption for the agency administering the Independent Commissioner Against Corruption Act 2017 (s 5(1)–(2))","Delegation of powers and functions by the Minister or empowered persons (s 4)","Core procurement obligations tied to accountable officers (ss 7–8) creating administrative compliance duties","Regulations can fill detailed procedural gaps, set Board membership, and define when tendering is required or dispensed with (s 12)","Ministerial power to require publication of contract information, creating disclosure choices (s 10)","Continuation clause preserving existing Procurement Review Boards established under prior regulations (s 13)","Reliance on external definitions in the Financial Management Act 1995 for key terms (s 3(2))"],"plain_english_summary":"This Act sets how the Northern Territory and its agencies buy goods, works and services: acquisitions must be by requisition, tenders are required unless exempted, and the Minister can issue procurement directions, grant exemptions and establish Procurement Review Boards. It affects accountable officers and suppliers: agencies pay procurement costs and must follow Ministerial directions, while Ministerial discretion over exemptions, tendering and information disclosure changes compliance burdens and who decides procurement choices."},"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"A positive credit balance is required for all requests, including BYOK, so fallback providers remain available. Add credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up to continue.","source":"analysis-cron"}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/procurement-act-1995","history":"/api/acts/procurement-act-1995/history","analysis":"/api/acts/procurement-act-1995/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/procurement-act-1995/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/procurement-act-1995/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/procurement-act-1995/documents"}}