The ARC supports small business participation in the Australian Government procurement market. Small and medium enterprise (SME) and small enterprise participation statistics are available on the Department of Finance website.
The ARC recognises the importance of ensuring that small businesses are paid on time. The results of the Survey of Australian Government Payments to Small Business are available on the Treasury website.
The ARC incorporates a number of procurement practices to support SMEs, including:
- use of standard contract templates with clear and simple language
- use of electronic payment systems to facilitate on-time payment
- encouraging credit card use to expedite payments
- membership of Supply Nation, a non-profit organisation established to grow the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander business sector by promoting supplier diversity in Australia
- reporting against both the Indigenous Procurement Policy and the ARC’s Reconciliation Action Plan April 2018–March 2019 on the number of contracts, contract values and expenditure for all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander SMEs.