Two worked examples

Both matrices were built from real, publicly downloadable Australian tender documents. Both tenders have closed. They are samples of the format and depth you get, not offers to those councils and not advice to any bidder. The bidder details in section A are fictional; every requirement and page reference is taken from the tender document.

1. Brewarrina Shire Council — T02-2026 Staff Housing (building, 41 pages)

Source: brewarrina.nsw.gov.au, Request for Tender Staff Housing 33 Bourke Street, retrieved 5 September 2026.

COMPLIANCE MATRIX
T02-2026 — Staff Housing, 27-33 Bourke Street Brewarrina
Buyer: Brewarrina Shire Council (ABN 22 6642 05362)
Closed: Friday 10 October 2025, 12:00 noon
Lodgement: tender box, post, fax or tender@brewarrina.nsw.gov.au
Contact: David Kirby, General Manager
Prepared by TenderDesk · worked example · assessment, not legal advice

Scope: construction and delivery of four two-bedroom modular homes or equivalent,
plus separately quoted four single car garages and Colorbond fencing per home site.

A. MANDATORY CONDITIONS OF PARTICIPATION — fail = not considered
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# Requirement Source Status Gap
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A1 Hold all accreditations, certifications, Cl. 21.3 ? Confirm NSW
registrations and licences required at law p. 11 builder licence
for the work covers modular
and site works
A2 Compliance with the Building Code of Cl. 21.3 ? Confirm the
Australia p. 11 modular design
is BCA certified
for the class
A3 Tender lodged by Closing Time and in the Cl. 21.4 ✓ —
prescribed manner p. 11-12
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Note: this RFT states the participation conditions unusually briefly. Everything
else that can disqualify sits in the compliance criteria (B) and the contract
conditions (D), which is where bidders most often lose it.

B. DOCUMENTS THAT MUST ACCOMPANY THE TENDER
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# Document Source Status Gap
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B1 Tender Form, completed and signed Tender Form ✓
item 2(a)
B2 Schedule of Specialist Subcontractors item 2(f) ✗ Not yet
p. 16 compiled
B3 Declaration re licences and registrations item 2(g) ✗ Needs current
p. 16 licence numbers
B4 WHS Contractor Management System item 2(h) ✗ No documented
Questionnaire p. 16 WHS system on
file
B5 Floor plans, suggested three or more design Advertisement ✗ Only one design
possibilities cl. 1.1 p. 2 currently drawn
B6 Details of PC items and allowances cl. 1.1 p. 2 ? Needs pricing
breakdown
B7 At least two recent references for similar cl. 1.1 p. 2 ? One comparable
work project only
B8 Acknowledgement of all addenda item 2(i) ✓
p. 16
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C. EVALUATION CRITERIA — no weightings published
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# Criterion (cl. 21.2, p. 11) Evidence held Gap
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C1 Capability: technical and management Two comparable No CVs for the
competence, financial viability, relevant builds; no nominated site
skills, experience, availability of personnel audited accounts supervisor
C2 Opportunities for local employment and None yet Highest-value
local business in the project gap: name local
subcontractors
and suppliers
C3 WHS compliance and safe work methodology Insurances only No SWMS, no WHS
system (links
to B4)
C4 Plans submitted, program of works, Design only No construction
achievement of outcomes sought by Council programme
C5 Overall cost and capacity to achieve maximum Lump sum priced Contingency for
benefit within budget transport not
separated
C6 Technical merit Design only —
C7 Degree to which the Tender meets the Partly B5, B6 open
Principal's Requirements
C8 Risk assessment and awareness, particularly None yet No transport or
during transportation and construction craneage risk
assessment
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Note: the RFT publishes no weightings. Council decides on "best value for money"
(cl. 21.1). Where weightings are absent, every criterion has to be answered as if
it carried equal weight; C2 and C8 are the two most often left blank by bidders and
both are named explicitly here.

D. CONTRACT OBLIGATIONS THAT AFFECT PRICE — read before you price
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D1 Public Liability Insurance AUD 20,000,000 per occurrence, current for the
whole contract period including the Defects Liability Period. Cl. 3.12.1, p. 28
D2 Workers' compensation insurance for every person employed, and evidence that
every subcontractor's employees are covered too. Cl. 3.11, p. 28
D3 Insurance of the works at Contract Price plus 20%, covering Council, the
contractor and every subcontractor, project and construction manager, held
from tender acceptance through the Defects Liability Period. Cl. 3.12.3, p. 28
D4 Professional Indemnity insurance is expressly NOT required. Cl. 3.12.4, p. 28
D5 Principal Contractor duties: WHS management plan submitted to and approved by
Council's Representative. Cl. 3.16.1, p. 30
D6 Environmental management plan required. Cl. 3.13, p. 28
D7 Council may demand before acceptance: previous experience, plant and resources,
a monthly cash flow schedule, all subcontractor names, and every priced
submission received. Failure to supply in time makes the Tender informal.
Cl. 24, p. 12
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E. TOP THREE RISKS FOR THIS BIDDER
1. B4 / C3. No documented WHS management system. This is both a required submission
and a scored criterion, so it fails twice. It is also the longest lead time item.
2. D1 and D3. Public liability at AUD 20m and works insurance at contract price plus
20% must be confirmed with the broker before pricing, not after award.
3. C2. Local employment and local business is a named criterion in a small remote
shire. A bidder with no local content answer is competing at a structural
disadvantage regardless of price.

F. TIME REQUIRED
The WHS questionnaire, three design options, subcontractor schedule, references,
programme and risk assessment are the substantive work. Estimated 30 to 45 hours
for a bidder starting without a WHS system in place; roughly half that with one.
Latest sensible start: three weeks before Closing Time, because insurance
confirmations and subcontractor pricing are outside the bidder's control.

2. Coonamble Shire Council — TEN230531DJ (civil works)

COMPLIANCE MATRIX
TEN230531DJ — 987 REPA Flood Damage Road Repairs (Package 2)
Buyer: Coonamble Shire Council, NSW
Closed: 10:00 am, 31 May 2023
Contact: Dirk Jol, Manager Roads
Prepared by TenderDesk · worked example · assessment, not legal advice

A. EVALUATION CRITERIA — weightings published (cl. 1.7, p. 4)
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# Criterion Weight What it actually asks for Gap
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A1 Price and financial benefit 40% Lump sum cost —
A2 Experience and Capacity 25% Past comparable contracts, No referees
operational AND financial nominated; no
capacity, staff qualifications, financials
referees prepared
A3 Methodology 15% Approach to project outcomes No mention of
AND "relevance to Coonamble local conditions
Shire" in the method
A4 Management Systems 10% WHS record and safety plans, No documented
Quality Management System, QMS or EMS
Environmental Management
System
A5 Local Contractor 10% Resident in the LGA, or pays Bidder is from
rates to it, or demonstrates outside; no
local purchasing, local local content
employment, local statement drafted
accommodation
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B. WHERE THIS BID IS ACTUALLY DECIDED
Price carries 40%, so a bidder assumes price decides it. It does not.
Price is a single number that every serious bidder lands within a few percent of.
The 60% that is left is written text, and three of those four criteria (A2, A4, A5)
are answered with documents the bidder either has or does not have. That is where
the spread comes from.

A5 deserves particular attention: 10% is available for local content, and the
criterion spells out exactly how an outside contractor can earn it — buying local
goods, hiring locally, renting local accommodation. A bidder who writes three
specific sentences here beats a bidder who writes nothing, at zero cost.
"The definition of what constitutes a local contractor is at the Principal's
discretion", so the answer has to be concrete, not a claim of intent.

C. PROCESS TRAPS IN THIS DOCUMENT
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C1 The tender briefing is NON-mandatory (cl. 1.4, p. 3) but requires
registration by a stated deadline. Skipping it costs nothing formally
and costs information practically.
C2 Site inspections are the tenderer's own responsibility (cl. 1.5, p. 3).
Maps and photographic evidence are only available "on request" — a bidder
who does not ask, bids blind on flood damage.
C3 The submission spans Volumes 1, 1a, 2 and 3 plus five appendices of rate
schedules and three published addenda (cl. 1.2, p. 2). Incomplete
returnable schedules are the most common avoidable failure.
C4 Decision date is fixed: Council meeting 15 June, acceptance letter 17 June
(cl. 1.3, p. 3). Resource planning can be built on that.
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D. TOP THREE RISKS FOR THIS BIDDER
1. A4. No documented Quality and Environmental Management System. 10% of the
score is unreachable without them, and they take weeks to produce.
2. A5. No local content answer. 10% available, costs nothing but writing.
3. C3. Volume 3 Returnable Schedules and the rate appendices are where an
otherwise strong bid is ruled non-conforming.

E. TIME REQUIRED
Rate schedules and returnable documents: 12 to 20 hours. Written criteria (A2
to A5): 15 to 25 hours if the management systems exist, considerably longer if
they must be created. Latest sensible start: four weeks before closing.

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