Policy Statement

AALC Statement of Position Regarding Government Procurement and Tendering Process

The Australasian Association of Language Companies (AALC) Inc. is a trade organisation formed to connect and support language service providers in Australia and New Zealand. The aim of the AALC is to develop a collaborative platform for industry stakeholders, promote the language services industry and industry best practice. It currently has 21 members and a 7 member Board representing some of the largest language service providers across Australasia. As such, the AALC speaks with authority and credibility on behalf of its members on policy and commercial issues.

Language Services Procurement

The AALC maintains that procurement and tendering should exercise probity and be conducted in a fair, ethical and transparent manner. The most important and broadly accepted principle underlying a modern procurement system is open competition – unrestricted, universal access to the procurement market. In addition, the procurement process – the selection of suppliers, tendering procedures and the award of contracts – should be open to public examination and review, making it a transparent process. Procurement should be based on rules guaranteeing fair and non-discriminatory conditions of competition.

All procurement activities should provide:

• Value for money
• Open and fair competition
• Accountability
• Risk management
• Probity and transparency
• Social value

In instances where a government-awarded contract for language services has expired, and multiple extensions have been applied, the AALC maintains that fair, ethical and transparent procurement procedures should apply to ensure open and fair competition.

Voice of the Industry

As the voice of the language services industry in Australasia, the AALC can be regarded as an impartial consultant for industry best practice. The language services industry is evolving at a rapid pace with technologies changing the way language services can be offered. The AALC believes that this should be taken into account in the setting of contract durations to ensure ongoing value and continuous improvement.