Contracts management

Enter the relevant details which will allow the non-research contracts team member to prepare or review a contract.  These include:

• The details of the other party including their: full name, ABN, address, and the key contact’s details including their email and phone number.
• Whether any other party to the contract is a foreign entity (which the contracts team will need to know to be able to consider if any notifications will be required under foreign arrangements legislation)
• The expected value of the contract (including whether this includes GST).
• The expected start date and proposed term of the contract.
• A description of the services & deliverables to be provided/received by the University.
• Any relevant service delivery dates or payment milestones.
• The date that you require the agreement completed or reviewed by. 

Please attach any supporting documentation including any internal approvals already obtained. For example:

• Any quotes, contracts, SOWs, or proposals provided by the other party which relate to this request.
• Any necessary approvals under the Procurement Policy – see quick links for link to Procurement webpage.
  
• Exemption from Quotation Form – This is required for expenditure over $7,500 if alternative quotations were not obtained.
• Acquisition Plan – This is required for any expenditure over $100,000.
• Strategic Procurement Committee (SPC) Approval – This is required for any expenditure over $300,000.
• Non-Research Certification Form – This is required if the contract involves Flinders receiving revenue greater than $10,000 or if a levy exemption is being sought.

Certain contracts will require additional authorisations/approvals:

• If a party is located overseas International may need to be consulted and notifications may be required under foreign arrangements legislation
• If the contract involves cloud-hosted software an ICT Security review may need to occur. 
• If the contract involves third party course delivery/development (including micro-credentials) DVC(S) may need to be notified.

You will also be required to complete a Report on Entry into Contract.

The Contract Management Handbook and Contract Policy requires that all commercial arrangements with Flinders are documented in a contract unless the exemptions listed in point 4 below apply. Examples of where a contract is required:

• If Flinders is engaging a supplier to provide property, goods, services, software or other licenses to Flinders;
• If Flinders is giving or receiving funding or grant monies;
• If Flinders is entering into a joint arrangement with another party (eg: under a collaboration or partnership agreements); or
• If Flinders is providing facility access, goods, services or intellectual property rights to another party.
• Examples can include: day-to-day business operations, teaching and research activities, property and infrastructure developments and strategic projects.  

The Contract Management Handbook is the Flinders’ internal policy that outlines the contracting process and principles.  This includes who can sign contracts, contract management responsibilities and relevant policies. The Contract Management Handbook is located on the following website: Contract Management Handbook.

• The Non-Research Contract team can assist to draft contracts.
• The Non-Research Contract team will also review contracts which have been supplied by another party.
• The Non-Research Contract team will assist with the negotiation of the contracts.
• The Non-Research Contract Team will assist you with ensuring all necessary approvals have been obtained by you and with arranging execution and filing of the signed contract.

The Non-Research Contract team do not assist with:

• Purchases of goods and services via petty cash, credit card, fuel cards and purchase orders.  These are carried out in accordance with the Procurement Policy. For more information on the Procurement Policy in the Flinders policy library at: Procurement Policy.
• Low Risk, once off Independent Contractor engagements where you are paying less than $10,000 in total can be addressed via a purchase order. 
• The Non-Research Contract team does not assist with employment agreements. These are administered by People & Culture.
• The Non-Research Contract team does not assist with research contracts. These are handled by the research contracts team by raising the following request: Research Contract request.

Yes, we have templates for most type of arrangements. We suggest proposing to the other party to use our templates for the terms and conditions of the contract. This usually saves a significant amount of time as it will ensure that Flinders’ standard and authorised legal positions are contained in the contract before it is sent to the other party. 

The Non-Research Contracts team can review contracts provided by the other party. We may need to request amendments to the contract before we can present it to an authorised delegate for signing. This may take more time and cause some delays depending on complexity of the amendments sought.

if you are dealing with a commercial arrangement that has a value of less than $9,999 excluding GST, is low risk and is a once off engagement (not on-going) then instead of using an independent contractor services agreement (which is an agreement prepared by Contracts team), a Purchase Order can be organised via the Finance team. The Finance Team will require details of the other party and a clear description of services. A Purchase Order can be prepared a lot faster than an Independent Contractor Services Agreement.

Any arrangement that is involving more than 10% research should be prepared and approved by the Research Support team. The Research Support team is separate from the Non-Research Contract team and has different processes and procedures.

The definition of research is as follows: Research and experimental development (R&D) is defined as:

“creative and systematic work undertaken in order to increase the stock of knowledge – including knowledge of humankind, culture and society – and to devise new applications of available knowledge” (section 3). R&D encompasses pure and oriented basic research, applied research, and experimental development research. R&D activity must satisfy all 5 of 5 core criteria:

• be aimed at new findings (novel),
• be based on original, not obvious, concepts and hypotheses(creative),
• be uncertain about the final outcomes (uncertain),
• be planned and budgeted (systemic), and
• lead to results that could be possibly reproduced (transferable and/or reproducible).

The advantage of a contract being classified as a research contract is that income being generated from that contract may attach Higher Education Research and Development (HERD) funding.

When you are dealing with an arrangement that has research focused outcomes and a research purpose, then please engage Research Support team at Research Contract Request.  If you wish to vary a Research Contract then please log a request for a Variation Agreement utilising the following link: Research Variation Request.

The Non-Research Contract team should be involved in all non-research contract matters. The Non-Research Contract team can be engaged by submitting a Service One Request.

• The relevant link for new contract requests is as follows: Non-Research Contract
• If an extension or variation of an existing contract is being requested than the following link should be utilised: Variation Agreement.

Before you submit a Service One Request you should include the following:

a)    Key Deal Terms: Ascertain and include the key deal terms surrounding your arrangement including:

i. The services/goods being delivered – this should include any terms agreed in the proposal/SOW and any performance metrics/KPIs/service credits which are expected;

ii. The delivery date(s) for the services/goods - this should include how the goods/services are being delivered (ie: whether this is cloud based delivery, a simple PDF file, whether we need the source/video files) and the delivery terms for any goods including details as to who should clear customs;

iii. The commencement date for the arrangement;

iv.  The expiry date for the arrangement;

v. Who will own the intellectual property rights in any goods/services being supplied; and

vi. If the services/goods include any data storage or matters of high importance (eg: where students are involved) then any transition services which may be required.

b)   Other Party’s Details: You should obtain the details of the other party including their full legal name, their ABN, their address, the key contact at the other party, their contact details (phone number and email address).

c)     Additional Forms/Documentation: Ascertain whether any additional forms or documentation should be attached to your service one request.  Eg:

i. Any quotes, contracts, SOWs or proposals provided by the other party which relate to this request.

ii. The Exemption from Quotation Form – This is required by the Procurement Policy for expenditure over $7,500 if alternative quotations were not obtained.

iii. An Acquisition Plan – This is required for any expenditure over $100,000. The Acquisition Plan should be attached to the Service One ticket.

iv. Strategic Procurement Committee (SPC) Approval – This is required for any expenditure over $300,000 and should be attached to the Service One Ticket.

v. Non-Research Certification Form – This is required if the contract involves Flinders receiving revenue greater than $10,000 or if a levy exemption is being sought.

d)   Additional Approvals: Ascertain any additional approvals which may be required and which you may wish to include with your service one request:

i. If a party is located overseas International may need to be notified of the contract and to give their approval to the arrangement. A foreign arrangements notification may also need to be made to the Department of Home Affairs. 

ii. If the contract involves cloud-hosting an ICT Security review may be required.

iii. If the contract involves a micro-credentials or a course delivery arrangements then DVC(S) may need to give their approval to this arrangement.

When you have these details, please provide them in your Service One Request to the Non-Research Contract Team – see link below for further information