Question:
To assist with accurate and commercially sustainable pricing of the separable portions, could Council please clarify the following:

1. If available, could Council provide indicative annual quantities by activity and separable portion for the initial 12-month term, together with any relevant historical quantities from the previous arrangement? It is acknowledged that any quantities provided would be indicative only and would not constitute a guaranteed volume of work.

2. What is the typical size and duration of an individual work package, and how much mobilisation notice does Council generally provide to the highest-ranked available supplier?

3. Are work packages ordinarily expected to be completed as continuous operations, or may the delivery program be agreed with Council when each package is issued?

4. The Specification requires the contractor to source construction water. Are any Council-controlled water points ordinarily available within the separable portions, and if so, what access, permit or usage charges apply?

5. Please confirm whether the supplied Traffic Management Plan/TGS 21 represents the typical traffic-management arrangement for these activities, or whether requirements will be determined separately for each work package.

6. Given that submitted pricing is fixed for the initial 12-month term, would Council consider a periodic rise-and-fall adjustment applied only to the fuel component of the relevant rates and calculated using the ABS Automotive Fuel Index? Any such adjustment would operate in both directions, providing Council with a corresponding reduction when the index falls. Alternatively, should tenderers incorporate the full fuel-price risk into their fixed rates?

Answered on 24/Sep/2026 04:58 PM:


1. If available, could Council provide indicative annual quantities by activity and separable portion for the initial 12-month term, together with any relevant historical quantities from the previous arrangement? It is acknowledged that any quantities provided would be indicative only and would not constitute a guaranteed volume of work.

ANSWER:

Council is not able to provide indicative annual quantities by activity or separable portion for the initial 12-month term, nor historical quantities from the previous arrangement. Tenderers should base their pricing and resourcing proposals on the scope of works, specifications, and any other information provided within the tender documentation. Actual volumes of work will vary according to operational need, budget allocations, weather events, and Council priorities during the contract term, and will be issued progressively.



2. What is the typical size and duration of an individual work package, and how much mobilisation notice does Council generally provide to the highest-ranked available supplier?

ANSWER:

Work packages vary in size and duration so there is no typical size allocated. Packages are no less than 500m. Mobilisation notice is generally required within 2-4 weeks depending on operational need.



3. Are work packages ordinarily expected to be completed as continuous operations, or may the delivery program be agreed with Council when each package is issued?

ANSWER:

The delivery program will be discussed and agreed with Council at the time of engagement for each work package.



4. The Specification requires the contractor to source construction water. Are any Council-controlled water points ordinarily available within the separable portions, and if so, what access, permit or usage charges apply?

ANSWER:

Council has a limited number of Council-controlled water points (bores/dams) that may be available, details will be discussed at the time of engagement. Council does not charge for access to its own water points for operational needs. Where a contractor sources water from a private party, any associated charges will be the contractor's responsibility.


5. Please confirm whether the supplied Traffic Management Plan/TGS 21 represents the typical traffic-management arrangement for these activities, or whether requirements will be determined separately for each work package.

ANSWER:

The supplied TGS is generic in nature. The preferred contractor may be asked to provide a more specific TGS suited to a particular activity, as required.


6. Given that submitted pricing is fixed for the initial 12-month term, would Council consider a periodic rise-and-fall adjustment applied only to the fuel component of the relevant rates and calculated using the ABS Automotive Fuel Index? Any such adjustment would operate in both directions, providing Council with a corresponding reduction when the index falls. Alternatively, should tenderers incorporate the full fuel-price risk into their fixed rates?

ANSWER:

The most recent escalations of fuel pricing has made the ideal of fixing prices for the intitial term difficult for tenderers to be able to price in the risk of further escalations. Undertaking frequent rise and fall reviews will also be too onerous. Therefore, Council will instead seek pricing for each discrete parcel of work from the panel of providers, when and as the work is required. The selection criteria and weightings will still apply in determining the rankings. The evaluation panel will score the tender responses, and these scores will carry forward throughout the life of the panel arrangement to be applied for each discrete requirement. Tenderers will not be required to provide pricing initially to be assessed for inclusion to the panel (Annexure A Pricing Schedule and section 3.2 of the Response schedule), however Council may request this information from Panellists at a later date should fuel settle and become more predictable.

Question:
Item 205, scope of rate

Routine Maintenance Guidelines Activity 204 defines gravel / material supply as applying when carrying out Activity 203. For Item 205 Formation Resheeting, can Council confirm that the tendered rate per m3 is to include the winning, supply and cartage of the imported gravel, in addition to placement, watering and compaction?

Answered on 25/Sep/2026 01:15 PM:


Regarding item 205 Formation Resheeting – this activity only includes the work operation listed in the guideline. Winning, supply and cartage of material is to be a supplementary work item given to the successful contractor to price at the time of engagement. Tenders should allow a min depth layer of 75mm and maximum depth layer of 150mm.

Question:
Item 305, banding

Item 305 Clean Earth Drain is priced per linear metre in bands of 0-10m, 10-20m, 20-40m and 40m+. Can Council confirm these bands refer to the length of drain in a single work instruction, and indicate a typical instruction length for the 40m+ band?

Answered on 25/Sep/2026 01:17 PM:


A: In activity 305, the referred to lengths indicate the length of drain in a single scope. This activity does not include work done to drainage typically completed as part of activity 203 – Heavy formation grading. Only restoration of existing earth drains that are ineffective due to grade or depth. As per the guideline the drain shall be constructed to one of the typical types in figures 6 & 7.

Question:
The Item 216 bands are listed as 1-10km, 10km-20km, 20km-30km and 40km+. No band covers 30km to 40km. Which rate is to apply to an instruction in that range?

Answered on 25/Sep/2026 01:37 PM:


Please see amended price schedule to include banding added to files

V2 Pricing_Schedule_T480_250926

Question:
Is the Mobilisation and Demobilisation rate payable once per area for the term of the arrangement, or on each occasion a contractor mobilises to an area? Where an instruction is issued for a minimum 500m section, is the mobilisation rate payable in addition to the scheduled item rate?

Answered on 25/Sep/2026 01:19 PM:


A: As per the work operations outlined in the guideline, Mobilisation/Demobilisation is to be built into the activity rate for all plant, labour, materials & traffic control.

Question:
For Items 204 and 205, will Council nominate or make available a gravel pit or borrow pit within each area, and is a royalty or extraction charge payable by the contractor?

Answered on 25/Sep/2026 01:28 PM:


A: Activity 204 contractor is to provide a commercial supply rate for supply, loading and cartage of the gravel/material to the job site. If Council decide to use locally supplied material this will be a supplementary item and discussed at the time of engagement.

Council would like to advise tenderers can gather all their questions together and ask in the one question.

Question:
Clause 4.6 requires quality records to be submitted through Dashpivot. Will Council provide panellists with access or a licence to that system, or is each contractor expected to hold its own subscription?

Answered on 25/Sep/2026 01:22 PM:


A: Access to Dashpivot app will be given to the contractor by IRC staff at no additional expense

Question:
To assist tenderers in pricing, can Council indicate the approximate grading frequency applied to each area - that is, how often a road is typically maintenance graded?

Answered on 25/Sep/2026 01:25 PM:


A: Each road is graded on a User Rating frequency typically 12 – 24 months.