Building on solid foundations - the potential for social participation and procurement in South Australia

Abstract

Governments around the world are seeking to leverage the local industry and employment generation potential of public procurement. South Australia has been a leader in this field through the introduction of legislation and policy requiring contractors to work with government to maximise local employment and industry participation in the delivery of publicly funded projects. This culminated in the establishment of the Office of the Industry Participation Advocate, a role that is seeking to increase the economic and social benefit to the State of public procurement through policy and program interventions. The focus of this report is on how public procurement undertaken by the South Australian Housing Trust (SAHT) and Housing SA might be leveraged for the benefit of Trust tenants through the creation of employment and training opportunities linked to this procurement.