Government has many diverse roles in the community. However, the strategic importance of the provision of government infrastructure to the future wellbeing of society cannot be underestimated. This report identifies a number of important issues and makes recommendations with regard to the better provision of government infrastructure in the future. The Committee recommends the establishment of a centre of procurement excellence in NSW and identifies areas of improved innovation, efficiency and fairness in procurement.

The terms of reference for this inquiry were that the Committee inquire into, and report on, world’s best practice with regard to the procurement of government infrastructure projects with particular reference to:

1. the best process of gateway decision making on the efficacy of public private partnerships compared to other procurement methods;

2. the best procurement process and documentation;

3. the desirability of the standardisation of procurement processes and documentation;

4. the desirability of a standard national process and documentation for the delivery of government infrastructure within a federal structure;

5. methods to minimise the cost of contractors tendering for the supply of services with respect to government infrastructure;

6. methods to achieve optimal contestability in tendering for the supply of services with respect to government infrastructure; and

7. any other related matters.