"Proposed legislation introducing gender equality targets that many businesses must meet to be eligible to secure government contracts is damaging to effective government procurement practices in Australia," said Innes Willox, Chief Executive of the national employer association, the Australian Industry Group.
"The principles currently underpinning government procurement in Australia promote competition, efficiency and transparency. Critically, they reinforce the need for the Government to receive value for money. These well-established principles, codified in the Commonwealth Procurement Rules, have served the public well.
"Gender equality considerations already loom large in the Government's procurement decisions, as many employers already need to show they have complied with their obligations under the Workplace Gender Equality Act to be considered for contracts above the relevant procurement value.
"The proposal to now add onerous gender equality targets to win work undermines the reasonable balance that has already been struck in the existing principles. It is of particular concern that these requirements may be implemented in an inconsistent and uneven way between businesses. This weakens principles of competition and a level playing field central to procurement practices," Mr Willox said.
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