NT Buy Local Plan: the 30% local content test
If you tender for Northern Territory Government work, local content carries at least 30% of the score. Here is how the test works since the October 2025 reforms, and how Aboriginal procurement fits alongside it.
What is the NT Buy Local Plan?
The NT Buy Local Plan sets how Northern Territory Government agencies reward local benefit when they buy. Agencies must give a local content test at least 30% of the evaluation weighting, within a value for Territory assessment. The current plan is dated 1 October 2025 and sits alongside the Aboriginal Procurement Policy.
NT Government Quotes and Tenders
The local content test applies to all government quotes and tenders. Agencies must invite at least one Territory enterprise for Tier 1 purchases and at least two for Tier 2, unless a delegate approves an exception.
Territory Enterprises
A Territory enterprise operates in the NT, has a significant permanent presence there and employs NT residents. It is not an accreditation: procurement teams consider it each time they go to market.
Head Contractors and Trade Partners
The plan's standard contract terms are designed to take in the successful tenderer's local benefit commitments, so named local trade partners (subcontractors) and employment or training offers can become obligations you have to deliver.
Aboriginal Business Enterprises
The Aboriginal Procurement Policy applies to NT Government contracts estimated at $15,000 or more. A business generally needs at least 51% Aboriginal ownership and recognised certification to count.
What the NT Buy Local Plan asks for.
What you report, and when.
Local Content Test Response
To the buying agency
Aboriginal Procurement Results
To agency annual reports and Closing the Gap reporting
Procurement Complaints
To the Territory Procurement Champion
- Local Content Test Response
- Named Local Trade Partners and Suppliers
- Employment and Training Targets Offered at Tender
- NT Resident Workforce Records
- Aboriginal Business Enterprise Certification
- Aboriginal Employment Hours
Offering What You Cannot Prove
Scores reflect both the benefit offered and the panel's confidence that you will deliver it. A large promise with no track record may earn less than a smaller one backed by a long-standing commitment to local benefit.
Answering the 30% Test Only
Local benefit can also score under past performance, capacity, timeliness and innovation, on top of the test. Teams that keep local detail in one schedule can miss those marks.
Assuming a Business Counts as Aboriginal
An Aboriginal Business Enterprise needs ownership, control and certification, not ownership alone. Check status before you count a supplier in your tender, and keep the certificate on file.
How Catchment manages the NT Buy Local Plan.
NT Local Content Month by Month
SocialProThe built-in NT Buy Local framework flags that the project must report local content. You add the items and targets on the Content Origin step, and packages report line items each month. That gives you a running record of what was delivered against the tender, and gives you the record to report from.
Plan and Progress Documents
GovAssureThe framework adds Industry Participation Plan (IPP) and IPP Progress Report requirements. Package-level requirements reach each new work package, and you switch them on for packages that already exist. Keep each revision of your own plan in the Document Register.
Aboriginal Business Spend
SocialProThe separate NT Aboriginal Procurement framework adds an Aboriginal Business Spend target, recorded per invoice with supplier ABN, certification, value excluding GST and any invoice file you attach. It records certification such as Supply Nation and does not check it with the certifier.
Aboriginal Employment Hours
SocialProThe same framework adds an Aboriginal Employment Hours target, with Aboriginal Participation Proposals and Indigenous Development Plan (IDP) as documents. Monthly hours count towards it when the worker's attributes match.
Distance From Site for Local Workers
SocialProWorkers' attributes include distance from site, so labour targets can reflect who is local to the project. Review and acceptance by the head contractor closes each period to the trade partner unless a reviewer reopens it.
Catchment lists this framework under that name for now. Adopting it on a project generates these targets and documents, which you can edit to match your contract.
NT Buy Local Plan questions.
What is the local content weighting in NT Government tenders?
Agencies must allocate a minimum weighting of 30% to the local content test. The procurement rules cap price at a maximum of 30%. Local benefits can also be scored under other criteria, on top of the test.
What is a Territory enterprise?
A Territory enterprise operates in the Northern Territory, has a significant permanent presence there and employs NT residents, and it must meet all three. Procurement teams assess this each time they go to market. Agencies must invite at least one for Tier 1 purchases and at least two for Tier 2.
What changed in the NT procurement reforms on 1 October 2025?
The Tier 1 cap rose from $15,000 to $50,000, and Tier 2 became $50,000 to under $200,000. Low-risk, commonly used supplies can now be bought directly from Territory businesses without a formal quote. Tier 4 and Tier 5 tenders not previously advertised must stay at market for at least six and eight weeks.
Who replaced the NT Buy Local Industry Advocate?
The Territory Procurement Champion replaced the advocate role, which ended in mid-2025. The Champion handles procurement complaints at arm's length and works with businesses and government to drive more local outcomes.
What is the NT Aboriginal Procurement Policy target?
The policy started on 1 July 2022 and applies to contracts estimated at $15,000 or more. It sets whole-of-government targets of 5% of contracts by number and 5% by value going to Aboriginal Business Enterprises, and the NT Government says it also sets targets for Aboriginal employment on applicable contracts. Changes to the policy are proposed in a second tranche of reforms, with consultation closing on 16 November 2026, so check for updates.
How does a business qualify as an Aboriginal Business Enterprise in the NT?
The guidelines require at least 51% Aboriginal ownership, operation as a business, Aboriginal control of daily operations at least equal to ownership, and certification from a recognised authority. Agencies can check status on the Aboriginal Business Register kept by the NT Indigenous Business Network.
- Buy Local Plan, 1 October 2025 (Northern Territory Government)
- Procurement rules (version 2.0) (Northern Territory Government)
- Aboriginal Procurement Policy Guidelines (Northern Territory Government)
- Making it easier to do business (Territory Q)
- NT announces Territory Procurement Champion for local business (Inside State Government)
- No praise for two governments aiding First Nations businesses (Alice Springs News)
- New government policy target for Aboriginal businesses already being achieved, documents show (NT Independent)
- SA, Tasmania, ACT, and NT Procurement Guide 2026 (Awarded Tenders)
- Procurement Reform Program (Northern Territory Government)
- Procurement policies and guidance (Northern Territory Government)
Reviewed 5 November 2026. General information to help you plan reporting, not legal advice. Policies change, so check the current version with the policy owner before you rely on it.
Report against the NT Buy Local Plan from one record.
Bring a live project and see this policy set up against it.
Book a Demo →