NSW Treasury Public Private Partnerships

All NSW Government agencies, including State Owned Corporations (SOCs), must follow these policies when procuring infrastructure or related services through a Public Private Partnership (PPP):

• NSW Government Procurement Policy Framework
• National Public Private Partnerships Policy and Guidelines
• NSW Public Private Partnership Policy and Guidelines (TPG22-21) (PDF 1.66MB)

The NSW Public Private Partnership Policy and Guidelines require agencies to assess any public infrastructure project with a total estimated capital value over $200 million for possible PPP procurement. Agencies must consider value-for-money drivers as part of their Procurement Strategy.

Appendix 4 PPP Assessment Framework (PDF 309.96KB) in the NSW PPP Policy and Guidelines provides guidance on how to complete an initial, high-level assessment. This helps decide if a project is suitable for a PPP during the Strategic Business Case stage.

If a PPP is proposed through the unsolicited proposals process, agencies must also follow the Unsolicited Proposals. For more information, visit the Guide for Submission and Assessment page.

The NSW PPP Policy and Guidelines give government agencies, the private sector, advisers and stakeholders a clear guide to the NSW-specific requirements for preparing, procuring and managing PPPs. These guidelines work alongside the National PPP Guidelines.

The Infrastructure and Structured Finance Unit (ISFU) can advise agencies on any part of the NSW PPP Policy and Guidelines.

For questions about the National PPP Guidelines, contact Infrastructure Australia.

NSW Public Private Partnership Policy and Guidelines 2022

Since 1995, NSW has provided guidance to government agencies, market participants and stakeholders on how to develop, procure and manage Public Private Partnerships (PPPs). These guidelines are regularly updated to reflect lessons learned and improvements in how PPPs are planned and delivered.

Key reasons for the revised NSW PPP Policy and Guidelines

The NSW Public Private Partnership Policy and Guidelines update the 2017 version. Key reasons for the 2022 changes include:

• improving how the State assesses whether a project is suitable for a PPP, by including a Procurement Options Analysis alongside the Strategic Business Case
• updating for the Government Sector Finance Act 2018, which changed how government funding for PPPs is approved
• applying the new accounting standard AASB 1059.

NSW Treasury consulted widely

NSW Treasury led a detailed consultation process to update the guidelines. Government agencies and market participants were invited to give written feedback on specific issues and the wider policy.

Treasury received more than 41 submissions and 551 written comments.

The guidelines streamline Treasury’s PPP policy

The updated guidelines combine and replace 2 existing Treasury policies:

• TC15-16 Managing Public Private Partnership (PPP) Contracts
• TPP15-02 Budgeting for Availability-based Public Private Partnerships.

These updates simplify and consolidate Treasury’s approach to PPPs. As a result, the new document is titled the NSW Public Private Partnership Policy and Guidelines 2022.

The PPP Toolbox

The guidelines still reflect NSW’s specific approval processes and legal requirements. They highlight the necessary government and legislative approvals at each stage of a PPP.

The guidelines also maintain the NSW PPP Toolbox, a set of templates and pro-forma documents. The toolbox helps streamline transactions, ensure a consistent approach during procurement, and reflect best practice in delivering major projects.

The toolbox templates, including the PPP Project Deed (excluding schedules) and the Financiers Tripartite Deed, are being reviewed from both commercial and legal perspectives. We will release the updated versions once the review is complete.

The NSW Public Private Partnership (PPP) Policy and Guidelines require agencies to disclose PPP contracts in line with the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 (GIPA). Agencies must publish contracts within 45 working days after they take effect.

The guidelines also require agencies to prepare a Project Summary within 90 days of the contracts becoming effective. A Project Summary is a plain English overview of the project’s contracts. It does not have any legal status.

If a contract is changed in a way that significantly affects the information in the summary, especially if that information is not easy to find elsewhere, agencies must update the Project Summary. This requirement is also consistent with GIPA.

All NSW Government agencies, except State Owned Corporations (SOCs), must follow the NSW Government Procurement Policy and its supporting guidelines.

SOCs follow the Commercial Policy Framework.

Local councils must comply with separate guidelines under Part 6 of Chapter 12 of the Local Government Act 1993.

The NSW Government Action Plan – A Ten Point Commitment to the Construction Sector sets out the Government’s vision and actions to improve collaboration between the public and private sectors on major construction projects.

The Premier’s Memorandum M2007-01 Public Disclosure of Information Arising from NSW Government Tenders and Contracts promotes greater consistency and transparency in government contracts.

The NSW Government relies on strong partnerships with the private sector to deliver its infrastructure goals. Ongoing competition across the construction industry, including builders, developers, subcontractors and suppliers, is essential now and into the future.

The NSW Construction Leadership Group (CLG) developed the NSW Bid Cost Contributions Policy (PDF 293.14KB) as part of the NSW Government Action Plan – A Ten Point Commitment to the Construction Sector. Member agencies of the CLG, who deliver major long-term infrastructure projects for the NSW Government, have endorsed the policy.

This policy explains when and how the NSW Government may provide financial contributions to help offset the costs of bidding for construction and infrastructure projects in NSW.