Managing procurement conflicts of interest

It's important for suppliers to identify, declare and manage any procurement conflict of interest they may have with UQ.

A procurement conflict of interest is where you are in a position which is or could be (or appear to be) influenced by a private or personal interest that could lead you to try to gain a personal advantage or to avoid a personal disadvantage in relation to a UQ procurement activity.

As a UQ supplier or prospective supplier you must tell us about any situation that conflicts (or could potentially conflict) with UQ's interests. This includes where a UQ employee has an interest in (or close relationship with) your business.

Disclosing a procurement conflict of interest

You should tell us if you think you have a procurement conflict of interest:

prior to participating in a competitive bidding process initiated by UQ
prior to the award of contracts or purchase orders by UQ
if a contract has already been awarded, when a situation arises where there is a conflict of interest.

You can disclose a procurement conflict of interest using the conflict of interest disclosure for suppliers / prospective suppliers (PDF, 867.8 KB).

Do not bid on a procurement activity, sign a contract or provide goods and services to UQ until UQ has notified you of a decision about your conflict of interest disclosure.

If you're unsure whether you have a conflict of interest in relation to a UQ procurement activity, you should seek independent legal advice. UQ cannot provide you with legal advice.

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Examples of procurement conflicts of interest

Procurement conflicts of interest can occur during the procurement process and in relation to contractual obligations while doing business with UQ. Learn more about these situations below.

Procurement process

A procurement conflict of interest during the procurement process is where the supplier or prospective supplier has an unfair advantage or engages in conduct, directly or indirectly, that may give it an unfair advantage, including but not limited to:

having, or having access to, confidential information of UQ in relation to the procurement that is not available to other suppliers
improperly impacting a UQ employee’s ability to make sound, impartial, and objective decisions on behalf of UQ
communicating with any person with a view to influencing preferred treatment in the procurement process (including but not limited to the lobbying of decision makers involved in the procurement process)
- e.g. a UQ employee was given gifts or other things of value by your entity or any of its affiliates in connection with the scope of work covered by the procurement process
engaging in conduct that compromises, or could be seen to compromise, the integrity of the procurement process
- e.g. a director of your entity has close friendly ties with a UQ employee involved in the procurement process.

Contractual obligations

There may be conflicts in relation to the performance of a supplier's contractual obligations contemplated in the contract with UQ that is the subject of a procurement activity, the supplier’s other commitments, relationships or financial interests:

could, or could be seen to exercise an improper influence over the objective, unbiased and impartial exercise of its independent judgement (e.g. an individual, as employee, advisor, or in any other capacity who participated in the preparation of the supplier’s proposal and/or quote was an employee of UQ)
could, or could be seen to compromise, impair or be incompatible with the effective performance of its contractual obligations.