The NSW Government will give first preference to local small and medium-sized businesses in flood-affected areas when awarding contracts for the repair, remediation, or provision of goods and services for government-owned sites impacted by flooding.
NSW Minister for Finance Damien Tudehope issued the directive in the wake of the impact of both the February-March and June-July flood events on SMEs.
“The extension of the direction will go a long way in helping local businesses and communities recover financially,” Minister Tudehope said. “Whether it’s a local courthouse, school or bridge, there will be many opportunities for small and medium businesses to assist in the repair and rebuilding work at Government-owned sites in their communities.
“Small businesses make up more than 97.5 per cent of businesses in NSW and the direction is the NSW Government’s way of supporting those local businesses which are the backbone of their community and the NSW economy,” Tudehope added.
Minister for Emergency Services and Resilience and Minister for Flood Recovery Steph Cooke said there is a significant amount of clean-up and rebuilding work to be done over the coming months.
“By supporting local companies with flood repair and rebuilding contracts, we are in turn keeping local people in local jobs,” Minister Cooke said. “This emphasises the importance of small and medium-sized businesses to the NSW Government and sets an example for the private sector and insurance companies to consider copying.”
NSW Government agencies are responsible for identifying local small and medium-sized businesses who can do the required work. Businesses are encouraged to increase their visibility for NSW Government procurement opportunities by registering on the Supplier Hub website of the NSW Government.
