Victorian Government Contract Management CPD - Managing Risk, Performance and Change

It was fantastic to have more than 100 attendees join us for our Victorian Government Contract Management CPD, presented by Hivesters Joanna Green, Joanne Wright and Stephanie Karantonis.

The session focused on a simple but important idea: seeking value for money does not end when a government contract is signed. The signed contract provides the framework, but active contract management is what turns that framework into successful delivery and helps ensure the intended public outcome is achieved throughout the life of the arrangement.

Taking a practical, contract lifecycle approach, we explored some of the key judgement calls Victorian Government contract managers face in practice, including:

• Setting contracts up for success: starting with a clear business outcome and translating broad requirements into measurable deliverables, milestones, service levels and acceptance criteria that can actually be assessed and managed once the contract is underway.
• Understanding roles and engaging the right people early: considering what the contract manager owns and when Procurement, Legal, Finance, risk and other specialist teams should become involved.
• Making sure the contract works as a whole: checking that the specification, pricing, KPIs, supplier commitments and other contractual documents align, so the contract manager can clearly identify what has been promised, how it will be measured and what happens if delivery falls short.
• Undertaking proportionate supplier due diligence: looking beyond a checklist to consider whether the particular supplier can actually deliver the particular contract, including its capability, experience, insurance and applicable compliance requirements.
• Mobilising effectively: using the period immediately after execution to confirm the contractual baseline, establish governance, allocate obligations and risks, set up reporting and reminders, and make sure both parties have a shared understanding of how the arrangement will operate.
• Actively managing performance and risk: testing supplier reporting against the contractual requirements and objective evidence, looking beyond individual KPI results to trends and emerging issues, and recognising that current performance and future delivery risk are not the same thing.
• Managing variations and change: distinguishing between a clarification of the existing deal and a genuine change to scope, price, timing, service levels or risk allocation, and ensuring proposed changes are properly assessed and approved before the parties commit to them.
• Using contractual performance mechanisms effectively: considering the role of service levels, service credits and liquidated damages, and why these mechanisms need to be measurable, proportionate and connected to the outcomes that actually matter.
• Maintaining governance and good records: keeping obligations, approvals, key dates, variations, risks and decisions visible so that the contract does not depend on the knowledge of one individual.

These issues are particularly important in the Victorian Government context because contract management is not simply an administrative exercise. Decisions made during delivery can affect value for money, procurement integrity, risk allocation, service continuity and ultimately the public outcome the procurement was intended to achieve.

Throughout the session, we encouraged attendees to have one of their own contracts in mind and consider where any challenges had arisen in practice: was it supplier performance, or had the issue started much earlier with unclear requirements, governance, documentation or handover? This helped bring the discussion back to the practical reality that effective contract management starts well before an issue emerges during delivery.

Best practice contract management requires active ownership throughout the lifecycle. Clear requirements, good evidence, timely escalation, disciplined change control and strong records can make the difference between simply having a signed contract and actually achieving the outcome the contract was designed to deliver.

A great session from our Hivesters and fantastic to see such a strong turnout. If you would like assistance in relation to setting your contracts or contract management up for success, please reach out to us.