Governance Framework

The SPF requires Victorian government agencies to use their procurement spending to generate social value above and beyond the value of the goods, services, or construction being procured. Issued 2018, it applies to both goods/services and construction procurement.

Mandatory for all agencies subject to Standing Directions 2018.

10 SPF Objectives

Opportunities for Victorian Aboriginal people
Opportunities for Victorians with disability
Women's equality and safety
Opportunities for disadvantaged Victorians (priority jobseekers)
Supporting safe and fair workplaces
Sustainable Victorian social enterprise and Aboriginal business sectors
Sustainable Victorian regions
Environmentally sustainable outputs
Environmentally sustainable business practices
Implementation of Climate Change Policy objectives

Thresholds and Weightings

Procurement Type	Threshold	Required Weighting
Regional Victorian	$1M+ (excl GST)	Min 5% evaluation weighting
Metropolitan / statewide	$3M+ (excl GST)	Min 5% evaluation weighting
Large projects ($20M+)	As above	Up to 20% weighting used in practice

Recommended weighting range: 5–10% for most procurements.

1% target of total government procurement spend directed to Aboriginal businesses.

Two Procurement Approaches

Direct: Purchasing directly from social enterprises, Aboriginal businesses, and Australian Disability Enterprises
Indirect: Using contractual requirements and evaluation criteria with mainstream private sector suppliers to deliver social outcomes

Interaction with Other Frameworks

Embedded within both VGPB supply policies and construction Ministerial Directions
Operates alongside (not instead of) value-for-money requirements
LJF thresholds align with SPF thresholds
"Supporting safe and fair workplaces" objective encompasses modern slavery considerations
"Women's equality and safety" intersects with Gender Equality Act 2020

Relationships

Relates To

Standing Direction SD 4.2.1 SPF is embedded within VGPB supply policy compliance for goods/services Standing Direction Construction Directions SPF objectives incorporated into construction procurement through Ministerial Directions Legislation LJF Act SPF thresholds align with LJF thresholds ($1M regional / $3M metro) Policy Overlay Policies SPF is a major overlay policy Policy Market Approach Policy SPF evaluation weightings applied during market approach and evaluation Legislation GE Act SPF objective 3 (women's equality and safety) creates a parallel gender consideration pathway in procurement Legislation Modern Slavery Act SPF objective 5 (safe and fair workplaces) encompasses modern slavery considerations Policy Fair Jobs Code Fair Jobs Code and Social Procurement Framework both apply at $1M+ for mandated agencies, with overlapping workforce-related objectives Policy LJF LJF and Social Procurement Framework both require evaluation weightings Policy Overlay Policies Social Procurement Framework is a threshold-based overlay policy requiring social value criteria

Explore Victorian Governance Framework

Governance Framework

SPF

Requirements

Applies to

Thresholds