Tenders ACT · Live feed
Territory schools and facilities plus the Commonwealth building market — Canberra has two government cleaning markets, not one.
Canberra is the only city in Australia with two distinct government cleaning markets operating side by side. The ACT Government tenders schools, health facilities, libraries and community centres through Tenders ACT. Simultaneously, the Commonwealth tenders an enormous portfolio of departmental offices, national institutions and Defence facilities through AusTender. The Commonwealth market is larger, better paid and considerably more demanding — security clearances for staff are common, and some facilities require Australian citizenship. Operators who can meet those requirements access work that most competitors simply cannot bid.
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Tenders ACT at tenders.act.gov.au carries Territory government cleaning, including public schools, ACT Health facilities, libraries, community centres and government offices. Separately and importantly, AusTender carries Commonwealth departmental office cleaning, national institution cleaning and Defence facility cleaning across Canberra — a substantially larger pool. Some Commonwealth cleaning flows through facilities management head contractors rather than direct tender, so identifying and approaching those FM providers is a productive route. Because Canberra is compact, there is no geographic dispersion premium, which makes it a competitive market on price and compliance.
The primary portal is Tenders ACT. You can also see what is currently open across the state on our ACT tender feed, or narrow it to your trade on the cleaning contractors feed. If you would rather not check portals at all, our guide to finding government tenders covers every jurisdiction and how to watch them together.
These are the credentials ACT buyers check before they assess anything else. A gap here is a compliance failure, not a scoring deduction — it removes your bid regardless of price.
Our guides on ABNs and licences for tenders and tender insurance requirements go through each of these in detail, including how long they take to obtain.
The contracts below recur year after year in Australian Capital Territory. Knowing the pattern tells you which capability to evidence in your capability statement.
The ACT's secure local jobs code is a distinctive and important factor: where it applies, contractors need a certificate and must demonstrate compliance with workplace and labour standards, which effectively prices out non-compliant operators. Build your labour model on that basis. For Commonwealth work, security clearance costs and the reduced labour pool that clearance requirements create both push wages above the award minimum, so price the cleared workforce rather than the general market rate.
For the full method — cost build-up, overhead recovery, contingency and how to sanity-check against published award values — see how to price a tender and the tender response checklist. Before you price anything, run the bid/no-bid scorecard so you are only pricing work worth winning.
It is an ACT Government framework requiring contractors on covered procurements to hold a certificate demonstrating compliance with workplace relations, WHS and training obligations. Cleaning is a sector where it is highly relevant. Obtaining the certificate takes time and requires an audit, so address it well before bidding.
It is larger, generally better paid and more demanding. Security clearances for staff are common, some facilities require Australian citizenship, and compliance expectations are higher. Much of it is advertised on AusTender rather than Tenders ACT, so monitoring only the Territory portal means missing the bigger opportunity pool entirely.
For Territory government sites, generally no — Working with Vulnerable People registration and police checks are the usual requirements. For many Commonwealth facilities, baseline or higher clearances are required, and Defence sites may require citizenship. Clearances take considerable time and reduce your available labour pool, which affects both mobilisation and wages.
Yes, because there is no geographic barrier protecting incumbents — the whole city is within easy reach, so contracts attract full competition. Differentiation comes from compliance credentials: secure local jobs certification, cleared personnel for Commonwealth work, and demonstrable labour compliance rather than the lowest hourly rate.
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