Procurement
We examine why a business capable of delivering the work may still struggle to reach the buyer: how purchasing decisions are made, which suppliers are invited to compete and what happens between a diversity commitment and a signed contract.
All procurement pieces
ExplainerWriting a buying brief before asking for a supplier list
Organisations that want to buy from LGBTIQA+ owned businesses often begin by asking for a list of suppliers. This explainer sets out what a buyer should write down first, so that a business can tell quickly whether the work suits it, and includes a template to copy.
ExplainerHow supplier diversity works in Australia and why the rules differ by buyer
Supplier diversity in Australia is a set of separate arrangements for Indigenous, social enterprise, women owned and disability suppliers, each with different rules and different force. This explainer sets out how each one works, what gives a category weight with buyers, and where LGBTIQA+ owned businesses currently sit.
ExplainerSocial procurement: how it differs from donations, sponsorship and supplier diversity
Social procurement adds a social outcome to an ordinary purchase. This explainer sets out the direct and indirect routes, how social procurement differs from donations, sponsorship and supplier diversity, and why purchasing from LGBTIQA+ owned businesses may go unrecorded.
ExplainerSupply Nation and Social Traders: what their certification establishes
Supply Nation and Social Traders both help buyers find suppliers, but they verify different things. This explainer compares what each certification establishes, how each is funded, and what the comparison means for any proposal to recognise LGBTIQA+ suppliers.
ExplainerHow LGBTIQA+ supplier certification works in the United States and Canada
This explainer compares the supplier certification programs run by NGLCC in the United States and the Canadian Queer Chamber of Commerce with the one Australian buyer definition that already recognises the category. It finds that fees, identity evidence and eligibility rules are central to how each scheme works, and that the open issue for Australia is whether buyers and owners would use a scheme.
AnalysisRecognising a supplier category does not by itself lead to purchasing
This analysis compares the mechanisms behind Australia’s supplier diversity categories and finds that recognising a supplier category is separate from using it, so research on LGBTIQA+ suppliers needs to examine both recognition and purchasing.
AnalysisRecord spending with certified social enterprises is not reported by owner identity
Social Traders reported 304 million dollars in member spending with certified social enterprises in the 2025 financial year, the highest annual total on record. This analysis sets out what the figures show about the market and why they cannot show how much reaches LGBTIQA+ owned businesses.
AnalysisIndigenous business contracts grew once Commonwealth buyers faced obligations under the Indigenous Procurement Policy
Commonwealth contracts with Indigenous businesses were worth $6.2 million in the year before the Indigenous Procurement Policy and about $1.6 billion in 2024 to 2025. This analysis finds that the growth followed the introduction of obligations on buyers, since verified recognition already existed, and considers what that implies for LGBTIQA+ owned businesses.
ExplainerSupplier onboarding with large Australian buyers: what a small business needs to prepare
A large company or government agency must set a small business up as a supplier before it can buy from it. This explainer sets out what onboarding usually requires, where to register for government work, how payment terms are enforced, and how questions of identity arise in the process.
ExplainerVictoria’s Social Procurement Framework: how it works and where LGBTIQA+ owned businesses fit
Since 2018, Victorian Government buyers have been expected to use their purchasing to create social and environmental value, which affects how tenders are written and scored. This explainer sets out what the Social Procurement Framework asks of buyers and finds that LGBTIQA+ ownership is not one of its categories, although LGBTIQA+ owned businesses can still benefit from it in other ways.
AnalysisThe Commonwealth’s 51 per cent Indigenous business test shows ownership share cannot establish control
This year the Commonwealth raised its threshold for an Indigenous business from 50 to 51 per cent and added a test of control. This analysis explains the reasons for the change and what it implies for the design of any LGBTIQA+ certification scheme, where ownership percentages are only the starting point.
