Communities and Justice

Statement on the Charter for Small Business

The Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ) is the lead agency in the Communities and Justice Portfolio. We aim to create a safe, just, resilient and inclusive NSW by:

  • operating an effective legal system
  • increasing access to social and affordable housing
  • protecting children and families
  • addressing domestic and family violence
  • promoting public safety
  • reducing reoffending and
  • supporting community harmony and social cohesion.

DCJ commitment to Small Business

We recognise the vital role of small businesses in NSW – defined as those with an aggregated annual turnover less than $10 million or with fewer than 20 full-time equivalent employees. Small businesses support the NSW economy by providing essential goods and services, creating jobs and contributing to local communities through the economic participation of women, First Nations People and people of culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.

We are committed to ensuring our policies and programs align with the six principles in the NSW Government’s Charter for Small Business (Charter).

Principle 1: Clear and strong focal point to support small business to start, grow and thrive

DCJ, in accordance with its Statement of Business Ethics (PDF, 215.0 KB), is dedicated to treating suppliers impartially and fairly throughout the procurement process. We aim to provide small businesses with equal access to information and opportunities to submit bids or tenders.

At DCJ, we procure a wide variety of goods and services to support the range of functions we perform across NSW. This presents opportunities for small businesses, including not-for-profits and non-government organisations to work with us particularly across our wide range of human services programs.

DCJ is committed to publishing all procurement opportunities that are $150K or greater in value on Buy.NSW. We therefore encourage small businesses to register on the platform to stay up to date on these opportunities.

Principle 2: Stronger engagement on new policy and regulation

We are committed to an inclusive and collaborative approach to policymaking and engage with the community through the NSW Government's have your say website to seek views on a range of our policies.

Principle 3: Listen and respond to red-tape and other pain points

DCJ is committed to reducing red-tape and addressing small business pain points by continually improving our systems and processes to make it easier to do business with us. Our Procurement Central portal is supported by a Helpline and offers a suite of secure online procurement tools for our suppliers that are designed to ensure compliance with NSW Government legislation, reduce red tape and make it easier to do business with us.

DCJ understands the importance of cash flow to small business operations and we are committed to promptly paying for the goods and services we purchase. Under the NSW Small Business Commissioner Faster Payment Terms Policy, participating DCJ business areas endeavour to pay registered small businesses within five business days of receiving an invoice for goods or services up to a value of $1 million. Payments up to $10,000 can be paid by a departmental purchasing card.

Principle 4: Boost Government procurement from small businesses

At DCJ, we are committed to supporting local small businesses. Our goods and services procurement policies and processes comply with the NSW Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) and Regional Procurement Policy, which aims to increase SME participation in NSW Government procurement opportunities.

Principle 5: Introduce and report on metrics and identify opportunities for supporting Small Business policy, regulatory and economic settings

DCJ is dedicated to identifying opportunities to support small businesses. We do this by providing the Service NSW Business Bureau (the Bureau) with expenditure data and metrics relating to small business procurement. This highlights the areas of success we should maintain and identifies where our partnership with small businesses can be strengthened.

Principle 6: Deliver key actions and commitments to timeline

DCJ also partners with the Service NSW Business Bureau to deliver on the key Charter actions, ensuring a consistent whole of NSW Government approach to supporting NSW small businesses.

Contact us

For more information, please visit the Doing business with us webpage or email us at procurement@dcj.nsw.gov.au.

Last updated:

19 Dec 2024