Maintaining the Integrity of Electronic Tendering by Government - Reflections on the Capacity of the Australian Legal Framework to Meet this Challenge

Numerous government are establishing electronic tendering systems for procuring in particular building services and goods. By comparison with other jurisdictions such as the United States and the European Union, the legal framework for government tendering in Australia is underdeveloped. No specific regulatory framework exists for ensuring the accountability, transparency or integrity of the government tendering process. The purpose of this article is to assess the ability of the current legal framework in Australia to effectively deal with a number of the new and novel legal challenges created by electronic dealings. This will be considered against the background of accepted practices and law related to the tendering process and relevant electronic transactions legislation, with a view to examining how the law might address the different, and sometimes heightened, risks involved in undertaking the process wholly in an electronic medium, rather than through the traditional paper document method.