Rule 49:
Debriefing suppliers
Explains that an agency must offer a debrief to all unsuccessful suppliers, when it must take place and the information that must be included in the debrief.
- All suppliers must have the opportunity to be debriefed following a procurement. An agency must offer each unsuccessful supplier a debrief.
- When a supplier asks an agency for a debrief, the agency must debrief that supplier within 30 business days of the date the contract was signed by all parties, or 30 business days of the date of the request, whichever is later.
- At the debrief, an agency must not disclose another supplier’s confidential or commercially sensitive information (Rule 4).
- An agency should provide information at the debrief that helps the supplier to improve future tenders or responses. At a minimum, the debrief must:
- include the reason/s the proposal was not successful
- explain how the supplier’s proposal performed against the criteria or any pre-conditions (Rule 28) and its relative strengths and weaknesses
- explain the relative advantage/s of the successful proposal
- address the supplier's concerns and questions.
More information on debriefing
You must offer suppliers a full debrief. Telling suppliers about the strengths and weaknesses of their proposal gives them an opportunity to improve future proposals.
Agencies that debrief suppliers will have fewer complaints.
You can debrief suppliers by phone, email, letter, or at a meeting. The method you choose should reflect the nature and complexity of the procurement.
See the guide to supplier debriefs and checklist for supplier debriefs for more information.