Contracting Portal - Frequently asked questions

On this page:

1. What benefits are there for my organisation to use the portal?
2. How do I get access to the Contracting Portal?
3. Our organisation has a generic email address that all staff can access to ensure we do not miss important correspondence. Why can’t we use this email address to access the portal?
4. Can we have more than one administrator?
5. What happens if the portal administrator leaves or goes on holiday?
6. Who in my organisation will be able to have access to the portal?
7. What happens if I am nominated as the portal administrator for my service?
8. What are the different access levels and what does this mean?
9. I have not received a new starter email
10. I cannot remember my password
11. Now that we will be completing the annual acquittals and self assessments online, how will we know when the forms are available for us to complete?
12. Does the portal give me access to all my DCJ contracts?
13. Who else will be able to see my service’s information?
14. Why do portal users need special permission to submit and request extensions for the acquittals?
15. How will I know if our DCJ Contract Manager reviews our acquittals?
16. Is there training available?
17. What support will be available to me and my service?

What benefits are there for my organisation to use the portal?

The portal will enable you to view current information regarding your contracts and payments as well as being able to submit your acquittals on line. Some of the highlights are:

• Update and maintain accurate contact information that will be seen by Communities & Justice
• View scheduled payments for the future and payments that have already been made
• View/print copies of your Funding Deed and Program Level Agreement(s) (PLAs) once they have been issued by Community Services
• View/print your Recipient Created Tax Invoice(s) (RCTIs) at any time
• Upload and track the progress of your acquittals
• Run a variety of reports on your PLA(s) and acquittals status
• View the details of the Communities & Justice staff member responsible for managing your contract

How do I get access to the Contracting Portal?

Before you can access the portal, there are few things you will need to do:

• Nominate two people in your organisation to be the portal administrators
• Complete the a nomination form
• Send the completed nomination form to COMSNGOSUPPORT@facs.nsw.gov.au

If your organisation already has Portal Administrators, you can contact them and request that they grant you access to the portal.

Our organisation has a generic email address that all staff can access to ensure we do not miss important correspondence. Why can’t we use this email address to access the portal?

Communities & Justice acknowledges that a number of organisations prefer to use a generic email address so that staff and board members can access important information. Although DCJ has designed how service providers view and interact with the portal, there are some limitations/restrictions that we are unable to change. Unfortunately, the ability for portal administrators and users to have the same email address is one of those restrictions. The e-mail address is your username or log-in details.

Can we have more than one administrator?

Yes, you can have as many administrators for your organisation as you decide. The portal administrator can create other administrators.

What happens if the portal administrator leaves or goes on holiday?

You can have multiple administrator users for the portal at any time. If you need to remove or change the administrator, this can be done either by your portal administrator or you can do so by contacting the support team at COMSNGOSUPPORT@facs.nsw.gov.au

Who in my organisation will be able to have access to the portal?

It is up to individual organisations to determine who can access the portal. There is no limit to the number of people who can access the portal as a ‘portal user’ or a ‘portal administrator’.

What happens if I am nominated as the portal administrator for my service?

Once your nomination form has been processed, your portal administrators will receive a new starter email notification that includes the portal web address, which invites the user to click on the link and from there you will be prompted to create a password. Once you are logged into the portal, check that the details for your organisation are correct and you will be able to add other people in your organisation as users for the portal. Refer to Q8 for information on the different access levels.

What are the different access levels and what does this mean?

There are 2 levels of access to the portal:

1. Portal administrator

   access that can:
   1. add or remove users (through end dating the user)
   2. update the information of the organisation, including contact people
   3. Request extensions for the submission of acquittal documents if given permission as part of their access. Refer to Q14 for further details
   4. submit the acquittals if given permission as part of their access
   5. assign roles to relevant users. Refer to Q14 for further details
   6. change the nominated, alternative and primary contacts for your PLAs, Funding Deed and organisation

1. Portal User

   access that can:
   1. Update primary contact and address details of PLA
   2. Input data for the acquittal process. Refer to Q14 for further details
   3. Request extensions for the submission of acquittals documents if given permission as part of their access. Refer to Q14 for further details
   4. Submit the acquittals if given permission as part of their access. Refer to Q14 for further details.

I have not received a new starter email

If you have requested access to the Contracting Portal and have not received a new starter email, please contact your organisations portal administrator for assistance.

If you do not have an active portal administrator within your organisation, please contact the Community Services Contracting Systems Support team by emailing COMSNGOSUPPORT@facs.nsw.gov.au or by telephoning 9716 2188 during business hours.

I cannot remember my password

If you cannot remember the password you set up, you will need to reset the password through the contracting portal. To do this,

• Go to the portal https://cp.dcj.nsw.gov.au/
• Once you are in the portal, select the 'Forgotten your password' link
• Enter your email address
• You will then receive an email notification with a link, click on the link and you will be prompted to create a new password

Now that we will be completing the annual acquittals and self assessments online, how will we know when the forms are available for us to complete?

When Communities & Justice allocates the annual acquittals and self assessment forms, the people listed as the primary contact for your organisation and each Program Level Agreement (PLA) will receive an email notification. Your portal administrators and DCJ contract manager will be copied into the email. The same people will receive an email when future PLAs and Funding Deeds have been issued by Communities & Justice.

Does the portal give me access to all my DCJ contracts?

The portal is linked to Community Services Contracting Online Management System (COMS) and only shows information about your Community Services and Housing NSW homelessness services contracts.

Who else will be able to see my service’s information?

Any one from your organisation that has been granted access by your portal administrator and DCJ staff will be able to access and view your information. Other service providers will not be able to view your information.

Why do portal users need special permission to submit and request extensions for the acquittals?

The portal has been designed to reduce the administrative burden on service providers at reporting time. It is important that good governance and the internal delegations implemented by individual service providers are maintained when accessing the portal. Community Services recommends portal users with the appropriate level of delegation are granted permission to finalise their acquittals by having delegated roles to submit and/or request extensions for the acquittals.

How will I know if our DCJ Contract Manager reviews our acquittals?

Your contract manager will receive an email when you have submitted all the acquittals. You can track the progress by clicking on one of the acquittals hyperlinks from the side menu or running the acquittals status report. In previous years you would have received feedback on your acquittals and this practice will continue through emails from the portal.

Is there training available?

Unfortunately we do not have the resources to be able to provide training or information sessions on the use of the portal. However, we have included Help Topics that can be accessed from the top right hand corner of your screen and have provided help icons shown as a '?', throughout the portal to assist you with the functions.

What support will be available to me and my service?

The portal has help topics that will remain available to users. The Community Services Contracting Systems Support team can provide additional support and you can contact the team by emailing COMSNGOSUPPORT@facs.nsw.gov.au or by telephoning 9716 2188 during business hours.