How to get a Suitability Clearance … for Free.

If you are involved in the procurement process for your organisation, you may like to see how our Suitability Clearance can be incorporated into your tender process … at no cost to you.

Often, tenderers or contractors to government are only required to have their key personnel sign a Stat Dec that they have not had a serious criminal conviction. It’s not -that- robust or effective.

Don’t take our word for it, though. Victorian Auditor General’s Report: Personnel Security: Due Diligence Over Public Service Employees May 2020

Page 11: Government agencies must specifically request any screening for each contractor or consultant engagement. This approach is not working. We examined a sample of 299 staffing services SPC engagements from 1 July 2017 to 30 June 2019 and found that 60 per cent did not have a police check. Our analysis showed that during this period, up to 3 430 contractors worked in the VPS without being checked for a criminal history. We also found that the audited agencies do not fully understand their obligation to request screening for each contractor or consultant.

This example was a little while ago, but not much has changed.

Here are the relevant words that you could use – INSERT them into you RFT information:

TENDER EVALUATION
Enquiries of Referees and Others
Tenderers should note that we may make enquiries of any person, company or organisation to ascertain the suitability of the Tender and the Tenderer and do so without advising the Tenderer or any persons associated with the Tenderer in relation to the Tender. This may include, but is not limited to, the confirmation of any information provided in the Tender.

Shortlisting
If the Tenderer or Consultant is shortlisted, they agree to have their specified personnel undergo a Protective Security Policy Framework (PSPF) Compliant Suitability Clearance through Cleard.life, at their expense. [the first assessment is free & then as low as $135]

Tender Costs
In submitting a Tender, the Tenderer will be deemed to have acknowledged and agreed that it will bear all the expenses it incurs in preparing its Tender or negotiating a Contract and is not entitled to seek any compensation or reimbursement of those costs from us.

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Here is an example of what the process looks like in real life:

For each shortlisted company, the Tenderer logins into the vetting portal (or via API) and enters the candidate’s name & phone number with the inclusion of any suitability-related information that the company or Procurement team has gathered.
An activation code is sent to the candidate immediately.
A one-on-one screening interview is conducted 24/7, with our Vetting Officer.
When the suitability assessment is complete (usually one day after the interview is complete) the Result certificate (red / amber / green) is sent to the Procurement Team / HR Team (see below).
The procurement team matches/reconciles the name, with the personnel on the Tender submission & evaluates the result.
Now you have a personnel risk mitigation and due diligence process inside your Tender process.

Conclusion:
For a confidential, no obligation discussion, please contact us on 02-6171-4171 about how we can fortify your security arrangements with your third-party vendors.