Is CAL a government department

CAL is an independent non-profit company limited by guarantee established in 1995 by the Territory’s then-peak industry associations. The independent shareholders appoint the Directors of the company.

Do assessment panel members see their competitors’ financial accounts

The financial information provided by applicants is not shown to the assessment panels.

The information is held on a separate file to the rest of the application. It is shown only to an independent Financial Consultant who conducts the assessment and provides a report that identifies the financial rating supported by the information. The assessment panel sees the Consultant’s recommendation and the applicant’s turnover history for up to the past five years. The panel may also see the details of any adverse credit references if there is a case to downgrade or refuse accreditation due to the applicant not paying their accounts on time. No other financial information is made available to directors or panel members.

Is CAL responsible for the awarding of government contracts

CAL is an independent company. While the government uses CAL Accreditation to identify the pool of contractors it chooses to consider tenders from, CAL does not:

• Advertise tenders
• Receive tenders
• Assess tenders
• Award contracts or
• Manage contracts on behalf of the government.

Was CAL set up by the large contractors to control sub-contractors

CAL accredits hundreds of contractors and sub-contractors each year, with ratings ranging from $50,000 to more than $50 million. The assessment panel membership is made up of individuals with a diversified range of knowledge, skills and experience relevant to local construction businesses and industries in the Northern Territory. All applicants for accreditation are treated equally.

Does the government have to award contracts to interstate companies because CAL says so

CAL plays no role in the assessing or awarding of tenders and cannot tell the government who to award work to. A percentage of accredited contractors are regarded by CAL as being from interstate. Commonwealth law does not allow CAL to refuse to accept applications from interstate companies. Their applications are assessed in the same way as all other applications and accreditation is awarded to reflect our assessment of their capability to successfully carry out work in the Northern Territory.

Do assessment panel members have a commercial advantage because they can see their competitors’ prices

The only pricing information that the assessment panel members see is the price of an awarded contract. This is publicly available information published by the government at the time the contract is awarded. In addition, panel members do not see the files of their direct competitors. They are either excluded at the request of the applicant or declare a potential conflict of interest and are excluded from viewing and considering the application.

Assessment panel members have a commercial advantage because they can see their competitors’ prices – FALSE

The only pricing information that the assessment panel members see is the price of an awarded contract, usually after the work has been completed. This is publicly available information published by the government at the time the contract is awarded. In addition, panel members do not see the files of their direct competitors. They are either excluded at the request of the applicant or declare a potential conflict of interest and are excluded from viewing and considering the application.

It takes months to complete a CAL application and costs $15,000 a year to be accredited

CAL continuously strives to improve and streamline its processes including the application process. The annual invitations to renew are accompanied by a pre-filled form using the information previously supplied by the applicant. While this needs to be checked and any changes noted there is no need to complete another full application.

CAL’s fees are assessed on the ratings awarded. The higher the rating, the higher the fee. For fee details see: Application and Accreditation Fees page - Contractor Accreditation Ltd