South Australian businesses are cashing in on the Malinauskas government’s election promise to ensure more government contracts are awarded to local companies.

In the past financial year, the spend with SA businesses has increased by 37 per cent or more than $1 billion, from $3.1 billion in 2022-23 to almost $4.4 billion in 2023-24.

SA businesses now account for 85 per cent of government procurement spending, up significantly from 71% in 2021-22.

These results follow the government’s changes to procurement policies to ensure departments look to support local suppliers first when awarding contracts.

The government has also published a Forward Procurement Plan, a document outlining planned spending for the next three years, to make it easier for South Australian businesses to see upcoming procurement opportunities for their business.

The plan is available on the new Buying4SA website, delivering on another election commitment to support local businesses.

The way public money is spent helps shape the economy and support businesses and their employees, which is critical while the nation’s economy softens.

These changes, designed to support businesses, further boost South Australia as the best place in the nation to do business, as stated by the Business Council of Australia.

Climbing Tree Creations at Royal Park, is among SA businesses to benefit from government procurement spending, securing the contract to build Glenthorne National Park Play space.

Click here for video & photos of Climbing Tree Creations’ work.

Quotes

Attributable to Stephen Mullighan

Government is the largest buyer of goods and services in the state economy and making sure we’re spending as much as possible on local businesses helps them grow and employ more South Australians.

These results show that our changes are starting to work, pouring over a billion dollars of extra money into the state economy, right at a time when the nation’s economy is slowing.

Attributable to Simon Hutchinson, Founder/ Director, Climbing Tree Creations

Winning the contract to construct Glenthorne National Park Play space has been a real boost for our growing family business. It has provided a lot of exposure that has opened up opportunities not just here in SA, but also interstate.

We are so pleased to hear the government is prioritising SA businesses, as it is very hard to compete with larger more well-established companies from interstate and overseas. With a few good opportunities here in our home state, it can really assist to grow our business.

We find the Buying4SA website very straight forward and easy to navigate. As a smaller company trying to navigate some larger tenders, the resources are very helpful and informative