ALEXANDRA, VIC. — Murrindindi Shire Council has publicly published a confidential report which lists assessments of tenderers for general maintenance contracts.
The report lists seven applicants who have sought to share in contracts totalling $3 million over five years.
“The document was removed as soon as the error was identified. Council has notified all parties involved and is reviewing the circumstances that led to the publication to ensure appropriate safeguards are in place to prevent a recurrence,” Murrindindi Council said in a statement.
“Council takes the handling of confidential information very seriously. While it is routine practice for Council to publish contract award details in the meeting minutes following a resolution at a Council meeting, the premature release of tender information was not in line with our governance protocols.”
The report, due to be presented by Cr Eric Lording at the Murrindindi Council meeting tonight, Wednesday, October 22, suggests that the contracts be awarded to a panel consisting of the following suppliers:
• Trevor Carns
• Melbourne Master Painting & Maintenance Pty Ltd
• The Trustee for the Venn Family T/As Venn Civil Pty Ltd
• Kinglake Plumbing & Drainage Pty Ltd
• Auzzie Engineering Pty Ltd
• Farley Pools Pty Ltd
• Gilligan Property Services Pty Ltd.
It is suggested that there be an initial term
of three years, commencing on January 1, 2026, with an option for a two-year extension.
The report was included in a list of attachments to the Council meeting agenda, published at the Shire website late Friday (Oct. 17).
The council report listed the hourly rates of 11 tenderers in each year of the contract. First-year rates listed in the document were:
• Trevor Carns, $60
• Melbourne Master Painters Pty Ltd, $77
• The Trustee for Venn Family T/A Venn Civil Pty Ltd, $100
• Kinglake Plumbing & Drainage Pty Ltd, $105 n Auzzie Engineering Pty Ltd, $70
• Farley Pools Australia Pty Ltd, $85
• Gilligan Property Services Pty Ltd, $115
• Elsum Developments Pty Ltd, $65
• Knot Only Carpentry Pty Ltd (Naylor), $110
• Whitehorse Projects and Maintenance Squared Pty Ltd, $100
• West Pacific Group Pty Ltd, $110.
In addition to general labour rates, the fees of each company were published, including welding and structural inspection rates, rates for outside normal working hours, emergency call-out fees, and margins on materials.
Evaluation scores for each tenderer were publicly published in the Council document.
An assessment of one firm was published with the comment: “Good communication and response time, quality of work is very good.”
“Over the past five years, Council has spent approximately $1.9m under the existing general maintenance panel contract. It is anticipated that Council will spend close to $3m over the next five years for general maintenance services with the additional services included in the contract,” the report said.
“We are confident the integrity of our tender procurement process was not affected as a result of the publication,” the statement from Murrindindi Shire said.
