Subcontracting
Information for service providers contracted by us, about the additional responsibilities and obligations of subcontracting, and the requirements for obtaining consent to subcontract.
What is subcontracting?
For our purposes, subcontracting is when a service provider uses the department’s funds to pay a third party — whether an organisation or an individual — to fulfil part or all of the services we have contracted the service provider to deliver.
These may include:
- Where a service provider has a contract with one or more third parties to deliver all or part of the contracted services.
- A fee-for-service arrangement, where regularly or from time to time a service provider uses purchase orders to buy services from one or more third parties to deliver all or part of the contracted services.
In a subcontracting arrangement, the third party is referred to as a ‘subcontractor’.
Is it always subcontracting when you use a third party?
No.
Here are some typical examples of circumstances that aren’t subcontracting:
- using a labor-hire company to recruit staff to become an employee
- using the department’s funds to cover ancillary costs, such as cleaning and security, when they’re required to support the running of the services you’re contracted to deliver
- hiring temporary staff or contractors for office administration or other duties that aren’t directly related to the services you’re contracted to deliver.
In all other cases, if you pay a third party to fulfil any part of your service delivery obligations under the contract with us, it is subcontracting.
This includes paying a third party to deliver health services that are within the scope of the services for a child or young person’s therapeutic care.
Emergency subcontracting arrangement
If you require an emergency or short-term subcontract arrangement contact your DCJ contract manager.
Independent Assessor
If you are a service provider contracted to undertake assessments for a child or young person in out-of-home-care and proposing to pay a third party to undertake an assessment you need to seek our consent. Follow the steps below.