WA Aboriginal Procurement Policy: what suppliers must deliver
From 2026-27, a head contractor on a WA Government construction contract of $5 million or more commits to one of two Aboriginal participation targets. Here is what each one asks for and when you report it.
What is the WA Aboriginal Procurement Policy?
The WA Aboriginal Procurement Policy sets targets for State agencies to award contracts to registered Aboriginal businesses and Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations. On contracts of $5 million or more in set industries, including construction, suppliers must also meet either a 5% subcontracting target or a regional Aboriginal employment target from 2026-27.
State Agencies
The policy binds all State agencies as defined in the Procurement Act 2020 (WA). Government Trading Enterprises are not required to comply but may choose to.
Head Contractors On Applicable Contracts
Aboriginal Participation Requirements apply to contracts with a total estimated value of $5 million or more in construction and maintenance, community and social services, education and training, or public administration and finance services. They also apply where a contract of that value is delivered mainly to, or targets the needs of, Aboriginal people.
Trade Partners
A trade partner (subcontractor) that is a registered Aboriginal business or ACCO counts towards the subcontracting target only if the head contractor engages it directly. Workers employed by subcontractors count in the employment target.
Registered Aboriginal Businesses
A business counts if it is listed on the Aboriginal Business Directory WA or Supply Nation's Indigenous Business Direct. A joint venture counts only if the joint venture entity itself is registered on one of those directories.
What the WA Aboriginal Procurement Policy asks for.
What you report, and when.
Subcontracting Target Report
To Tenders WA, and the agency
Employment Target Report
To the agency, and uploaded to Tenders WA
Agency Contract Publication
To Tenders WA
Agency Aboriginal Procurement Plan
To the Department of Treasury and Finance
- Target Nomination In The Tender Offer
- APR Clauses In The Signed Contract
- Directory Listing For Each Aboriginal Trade Partner
- Direct Subcontracts And Their Values
- Aboriginal And Non-Aboriginal Headcount By Contract Year
- Headcount From Direct Subcontractors
- Tenders WA Report Submissions
Counting Hours Instead Of People
The employment target is a percentage of persons employed on the contract, not a share of labour hours. A team tracking hours alone will not have the number the report asks for.
Counting Lower-Tier Spend
Only a subcontractor engaged directly by the supplier counts towards the subcontracting target. Spend with an Aboriginal business further down the chain does not get you there, so check the contract tier before counting it.
Missing A Directory Listing
A business must be on one of the two named directories to count as registered. Being Aboriginal owned without a listing leaves the spend outside the target, so check the listing when you engage the trade partner, not at reporting time.
How Catchment manages the WA Aboriginal Procurement Policy.
Subcontracting Target, Invoice By Invoice
SocialProThe WA framework's Aboriginal Business Spend (Option A) target sits against Certified Spend, with one row per invoice holding the ABN, certification, value excluding GST and any invoice file you attach. The catalogue default is 4, so edit it to 5 for a contract advertised from 2026-27.
Employment Target By Region
SocialProThe framework carries Aboriginal Employment (Option B) targets at 2, 5 and 10 for the three regional bands, as hours targets. Because this policy counts people, set your target up as a headcount target on the project and each work package reports against it.
Directory Evidence On File
GovAssureCertified Spend records certification but does not check it with the directory. File each trade partner's Aboriginal Business Directory WA or Supply Nation listing in the Document Register, with its revision date. Catchment does not flag a lapse, so check the listing before you count the spend.
APR Reports On The Contract's Dates
GovAssureThe framework generates the APR Progress Reports and Final Reconciliation Report as document requirements, and you can set the frequency to annual to match the anniversary report. Catchment gives you the record to report from and exports it, and you lodge it in Tenders WA yourself.
Trade Partner Figures Before They Count
SocialProEach work package submits a monthly report and the head contractor accepts or sends back each section. Accepted periods lock, so your anniversary headcount comes from figures already reviewed.
Adopting this framework on a project generates these targets and documents. You can edit them to match your contract.
WA Aboriginal Procurement Policy questions.
What is the WA Aboriginal Procurement Policy target for 2026-27?
From 2026-27 agencies must award 5% of their contracts to registered Aboriginal businesses or ACCOs, counted by number of contracts of $50,000 or more. The subcontracting target on applicable contracts is also 5% of contract value. Both were 4.5% in 2025-26.
What are Aboriginal Participation Requirements in WA?
They are clauses agencies must include in contracts of $5 million or more in set industries, including construction and maintenance. The supplier commits to either a subcontracting target or an Aboriginal employment target, and only the one it nominates applies. Agencies can set higher minimums.
What is the Aboriginal employment target in the Pilbara?
The minimum is 10% of the persons employed on the contract in the Pilbara and Kimberley. It is 5% in the Gascoyne, Mid West and Goldfields-Esperance, and 2% elsewhere including Perth and state-wide contracts. If a contract covers several regions, the lowest applicable figure applies.
What counts as a registered Aboriginal business in WA?
A business registered on the Aboriginal Business Directory WA or on Supply Nation's Indigenous Business Direct. An ACCO counts on community services work, but for other contracts it must also be registered on a directory to count towards an agency's target.
When do I report against the WA Aboriginal participation targets?
A subcontracting report goes through Tenders WA within 30 days of contract expiry. An employment report goes to the agency within 30 days of each contract anniversary and is also uploaded to Tenders WA. Agencies may add further reporting in the contract, so read your own clauses.
What happens if a supplier cannot meet its APR target?
Agencies are told to monitor progress, understand the reasons and use contract management levers. If the target truly cannot be met, a new percentage may be set by contract variation, starting only on a contract anniversary. A tender that declines the requirements is weighed in the value for money assessment.
Who runs the WA Aboriginal Procurement Policy now?
The Department of Treasury and Finance runs it through its Social Procurement team. It is issued as General Procurement Direction 2025/03 and took effect on 1 July 2025 after a review that also drew on an Auditor General audit tabled in November 2024.
- Aboriginal Procurement Policy - Agency Practice Guide (February 2026) (Department of Treasury and Finance, Western Australia)
- General Procurement Direction 2025/03 - Aboriginal Procurement Policy (Department of Treasury and Finance, Western Australia)
Reviewed 4 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.
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