Victorian Social Procurement Framework: A Reporting Guide for Suppliers

The Short Answer

The Victorian Social Procurement Framework (SPF) governs how the Victorian Government uses its purchasing of goods, services and construction to deliver social and sustainable outcomes. It applies to all agencies subject to the Standing Directions under the Financial Management Act 1994, regardless of value, and its requirements step up with procurement value. On larger contracts, suppliers commit to outcomes in a Social Procurement Commitment Proposal and then report against those commitments through delivery.

This guide covers the value bands, the objectives, who counts as a social benefit supplier, and what reporting looks like for suppliers. Policy facts come from Buying for Victoria, linked at the end. Your contract sets the specific commitments, targets and reporting frequency, so always check it.

What Is the Social Procurement Framework?

The SPF was published in April 2018 and has applied since 1 September 2018. Unlike the Building Equality Policy or Local Jobs First, it is not a single set of numeric targets. It is a framework of objectives that agencies build into procurement in proportion to the value and risk of each purchase, which is why two Victorian contracts of similar size can carry different social procurement commitments.

The Building Equality Policy is implemented through the SPF and applies to publicly funded construction projects of $20 million or more. Local Jobs First and the Major Projects Skills Guarantee are separate, and the SPF guidance notes it has no overlap with them. Most large Victorian construction projects carry all of them at once.

Who Does the SPF Apply To? The Value Bands

Buying for Victoria's requirements and expectations page sets out four bands, with values excluding GST:

• Below threshold (under $1 million in regional Victoria, or under $3 million for metropolitan or State-wide procurements): social procurement is encouraged and built into normal procurement planning
• $1 million to $20 million regional, or $3 million to $20 million metropolitan or State-wide: a proportionate approach, using evaluation criteria with a 5 to 10 per cent weighting
• $20 million to $50 million: a Social Procurement Plan is completed during procurement planning, with a targeted approach using performance standards and contract requirements
• Over $50 million: a Social Procurement Plan with a strategic approach that includes targets and contract requirements

For construction, social procurement clauses are embedded in the approved standard form construction contracts, so commitments made at tender carry through to delivery.

The SPF Objectives

The SPF sets seven social and three sustainable objectives. The social objectives are:

1. Opportunities for Victorian Aboriginal people
2. Opportunities for Victorians with disability
3. Women's equality and safety
4. Opportunities for Victorian priority jobseekers
5. Supporting safe and fair workplaces
6. Sustainable Victorian social enterprise and Aboriginal business sectors
7. Sustainable Victorian regions

The sustainable objectives are:

1. Environmentally sustainable outputs
2. Environmentally sustainable business practices
3. Implementation of the Climate Change Policy Objectives

The SPF itself does not set fixed percentages for these objectives on construction projects. Targets for Aboriginal employment, priority jobseekers or social benefit supplier spend are set by the buying agency for each procurement and written into the contract. If someone quotes you a single SPF percentage, check your contract rather than the framework.

Who Counts as a Social Benefit Supplier?

Spend with social benefit suppliers is one of the most common SPF commitments, and the definitions matter for reporting. According to the social procurement overview, social benefit suppliers include:

• Social enterprises certified by Social Traders
• Victorian Aboriginal businesses verified by Supply Nation or Kinaway
• Providers of employment supports or services under the Disability Services and Inclusion Act 2023 (Cth)

A spend figure is only as strong as the certification behind it, so keep each supplier's certification current and attached to the spend you report.

What Does SPF Reporting Look Like?

The SPF guide to contract management and reporting describes the contractor reporting against the commitments in its Social Procurement Commitment Proposal, at a frequency set out in the contract, using a Social Procurement Performance Report. A final report may be required within a specified period of practical completion, supported by a statutory declaration.

Buying for Victoria's guidance on managing social procurement commitments says suppliers should maintain accurate records to show that they are meeting their targets. Agencies then report social procurement annually over the financial year, aggregated by the Department of Government Services and included in each agency's Report of Operations.

A statutory declaration at completion is the clearest reason to keep evidence attached from the start. Signing it is far easier when every figure can be traced back to an invoice, a timesheet or a certificate.

How to Set Up SPF Reporting on a Project

1. Turn each commitment in the Social Procurement Commitment Proposal into a metric, a data source and an owner
2. Flow social procurement reporting into trade packages and supply agreements before work starts
3. Record spend with social benefit suppliers against their certification, and recheck certifications before they lapse
4. Collect monthly, even if the contract asks for less frequent reports, so problems surface early
5. Keep evidence attached to every figure so the final report and statutory declaration can be supported
6. Report employment outcomes, such as Aboriginal and priority jobseeker hours, from the same worker-level data you use for other policies

How Catchment Helps With SPF Reporting

Catchment's SocialPro module covers the commitments the SPF usually produces: certified social spend, participation hours for priority cohorts and evidence and certification tracking. Your commitments are set up once, trade partners and suppliers report for free, and each figure keeps the document behind it, so the Social Procurement Performance Report and the final statutory declaration rest on records you can stand behind. The sustainable objectives sit in EnviroTrack, in the same system.

To see how your SPF commitments would be set up, book a demo.

Sources

Buying for Victoria, Victoria's Social Procurement Framework

Buying for Victoria, Social Procurement Framework requirements and expectations

Buying for Victoria, Social and sustainable procurement objectives and outcomes

Buying for Victoria, Social procurement overview

Buying for Victoria, Guide to contract management and reporting (PDF)

Buying for Victoria, Social procurement reporting