The NSW Procurement Board expects that agencies and service providers will conduct their business relationships in accordance with law and accepted standards of behaviour at all times. These requirements are essential to business confidence in the NSW Government’s procurement regime as well as public trust more broadly in the Government’s decision making processes.

Findings of dishonest, unfair, unconscionable, corrupt or otherwise illegal conduct, regardless of whether such conduct occurs in the context of a relationship with the NSW Government, can adversely affect the Government’s reputation as a procurer. Accordingly, agencies are required:

1. To ensure that their tendering processes require tenderers to:
   
   a) comply where relevant with the NSW Procurement Policy Framework, the NSW Code of Practice for Procurement and the NSW Implementation Guidelines to the Code of Practice for Procurement: Building and Construction, and
   
   b) provide information concerning any findings of dishonest, unfair, unconscionable, corrupt or illegal conduct against the tenderer, its directors or management.
    
2. To use their best endeavours to ensure that they are aware of any adverse findings against a supplier with whom they have an existing relationship, and report such findings to the Board when such findings become known to the agency.

Findings of dishonest, unfair, unconscionable, corrupt or illegal conduct can have a range of consequences for individual suppliers, including as serious as exclusion from contracting opportunities with the Government.

This Direction is issued by the NSW Procurement Board on 19 March 2014 and takes effect from 31 March 2014 until withdrawn.