How to register on AusTender: step-by-step

AusTender (tenders.gov.au) is the Australian Government's official procurement information system. Every Commonwealth tender, contract award and planned procurement is published there. Registration is free — here's how to set it up.

What you'll need

An Australian Business Number (ABN), your business contact details, and about 15 minutes. That's it. There's no approval process or waiting period — once registered, you can immediately search tenders and set up notifications.

Step-by-step registration

1. Go to tenders.gov.au

Click "Register" in the top navigation. You'll create an account as a "Supplier" — this gives you access to search, notifications and the ability to respond to tenders through the portal.

2. Enter your business details

Provide your ABN, business name, contact information and address. AusTender will validate your ABN against the Australian Business Register.

3. Set up your UNSPSC categories

This is the most important (and most confusing) step. AusTender uses UNSPSC codes — the United Nations Standard Products and Services Code — to categorise tenders. You need to select the codes that match your business. Be thorough: if you miss a relevant code, you'll miss matching tenders in your notifications.

Tip: search for keywords related to your services and select all relevant codes, even if they seem tangential. It's better to receive a few irrelevant alerts than to miss genuine opportunities.

4. Configure your notifications

AusTender sends email notifications when new tenders match your selected categories. You can set the frequency (daily is recommended) and filter by agency, value range or tender type. These are batch notifications — they arrive the morning after tenders are published.

5. Explore saved searches

Beyond category-based notifications, you can create saved keyword searches for more specific matching. Combine category alerts with keyword searches for the most comprehensive coverage within AusTender.

The limitations of AusTender alerts

AusTender notifications are free and functional, but they have inherent limitations: they cover federal tenders only (not state or council), they're batched into daily emails (up to 24 hours after publication), and they rely on UNSPSC codes which are easy to misconfigure. For comprehensive coverage across all 8 Australian jurisdictions we cover with plain-English search, consider adding AskTender — it puts AusTender's data (plus all eight state portals) inside your AI, searchable in real time. See our AusTender vs AskTender comparison for the full picture.

After registration: what next?

Browse current open tenders, familiarise yourself with how tender documents are structured (RFT guide), and read our guide on how to apply for government tenders. The sooner you start responding, the sooner you build the track record that wins future work.