← Back to: Where to find tender opportunities in Australia
Victoria has more registered tender platforms than any other state, and most of them only cover a slice of the market.
If you're a business owner or bid manager in Victoria, here's your heads-up: now is the time to double down on tendering opportunities across Melbourne and the regions.
Strategic procurement planning is well underway, and a steady stream of RFx (Requests for Tender/Quote/Proposal) are being released by Victorian Government departments, councils, and agencies. Whether you're in infrastructure, services, training, tech, or consulting, there's opportunity here for you.
Start with Buying for Victoria. It's the Victorian Government's central tender portal, the site formerly known as TendersVIC. Register on the Supplier Portal to view and respond to opportunities, and to reach panels and registers that never show up as open public tenders.
One compliance step trips up a lot of Victorian bidders. Since 1 September 2024, a Fair Jobs Code pre-assessment certificate is mandatory for any Victorian Government contract of $1 million or more, and for direct subcontractors at that value. Sort it out before you tender, not after. Miss it and your bid can be ruled out before anyone reads your response.
Local content rules in Victoria
Victoria runs the toughest local-content rules in the country. Most tenders from $1 million regional or $3 million metro carry a mandatory 20% weighting, split evenly between industry development and local jobs. Strategic Projects above $50 million can demand up to 90% local content outright. "Local" means the work was actually done in Australia or New Zealand, not a Victorian head office, and the Local Jobs First Commissioner checks it well after you've won, not just at evaluation.
Want to see the rules for yourself, in plain terms? Victoria publishes a simple map of who sets what: About Victorian Government Procurement shows which agency owns each rule, including Local Jobs First.
Where to find current and upcoming Victorian tenders:
- State Government tenders (buyingfor.vic.gov.au)
- Melbourne and Victorian council opportunities via VendorPanel and MAV TenderLink
- National sources and aggregators, listed in full on our national guide
The Victorian sources worth watching
Victoria is better organised than most states. The Municipal Association of Victoria runs a statewide council platform, so a short list of sites covers a lot of ground. These are the Victoria-specific sources, rated for ease of use from ★★★ easy to ★☆☆ difficult, with a note on why and whether you need an account. Pair them with AusTender and one national aggregator from the main guide.
| Site | Ease | Why, and do you need an account? | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buying for Victoria | ★★☆ | The Victorian Government's central portal (formerly TendersVIC) for state tenders, panels and awarded contracts. Moderate because the Supplier Hub and Digital Marketplace split takes a moment to learn. Account: free registration to view and respond. | buyingfor.vic.gov.au |
| MAV TenderLink | ★★☆ | The Municipal Association of Victoria's statewide council platform, the closest thing Australia has to a single council feed. Treat it as a router rather than a guaranteed list of every council's tenders, and note the City of Melbourne runs its own portal, not MAV. Account: free registration. | portal.tenderlink.com/mav |
| VendorPanel Public Tenders | ★★☆ | Where many Victorian councils publish RFQs, invitations and panels, so it captures a broad slice of council activity in one place. Account: free supplier registration; how much you see depends on which councils use it. | vendorpanel.com.au/publictenders.aspx |
| ICN Gateway (Local Jobs First) | ★★☆ | Where major Victorian infrastructure and construction packages are shared: rail, roads and hospitals under Local Jobs First. Moderate because it is EOI-based and project-driven rather than a simple search. Account: free registration. | gateway.icn.org.au |
| HealthShare Victoria | ★☆☆ | The buyer for Victoria's public hospitals and health services: medical products, equipment, IT and logistics. Difficult because it is narrow and process-heavy, so only worth the effort if health is your market. Account: registration required. | healthsharevic.org.au |
Bonus: Sign up for a 12-month subscription at Australian Tenders and use the code BIDBUDDY at checkout. You'll get $100 off your annual plan. A small investment for a big pipeline boost.
Start Here: A Simple Victorian Tender Setup
Because the MAV platform does a lot of the council heavy lifting, a Victorian setup can be short. Get these going first, then add a single national aggregator on top.
- Buying for Victoria for state tenders, panels and registers, and register on the Supplier Hub, not just the tender list
- MAV TenderLink for council tenders across Victoria, plus the City of Melbourne's own portal if you work in the CBD
- VendorPanel for council RFQs and smaller procurement
- HealthShare Victoria if you supply health, and ICN Gateway for major infrastructure packages
- AusTender for any Commonwealth work delivered in Victoria, then one national aggregator from the main guide, not several
For the full national list of primary sources and aggregators, see Where to find tender opportunities in Australia.
Two things worth knowing before you start. Register on the Buying for Victoria Supplier Hub and Digital Marketplace, not just the tenders list. A lot of government work, especially IT and repeat RFQs, comes through panels and registers that never hit the open feed. If you supply construction works or services, get onto the Construction Supplier Register too.
A word on councils. Do not restrict yourself to the City of Melbourne. Depending on where you can work, watch councils like Port Phillip, Yarra, Stonnington, Boroondara, Monash, Glen Eira, Kingston, Bayside, Maribyrnong, Moonee Valley, Darebin, Merri-bek, Banyule, Manningham, Whitehorse, Greater Dandenong, Knox and Wyndham. Their platforms vary, which is why VendorPanel and MAV TenderLink earn their place. The City of Melbourne runs its own: TenderLink for contracts above $250,000, and COMBUY for quotes between $2,000 and $250,000.
If you want to look for not for profit or private/public company tenders, you are going to have to hustle. They are not bound by any legislation to publicly advertise their opportunities, so the only way to break into them is through good old-fashioned new business development. Research the person to speak to, get an introduction / call them up, make an appointment, find out their needs etc etc.
Now the honest part. Finding the opportunity is the easy bit. Winning it in a market as competitive as Victoria's is where most bids come unstuck.
Most businesses miss out, and it's rarely a qualification problem. They:
- Submit cookie-cutter bids,
- Miss critical compliance details,
- Or don't understand how tenders are really evaluated.
If you've lost tenders to "better-prepared" rivals or for reasons unknown, you're not alone. Many Victorian suppliers are operating reactively by pulling together bids at the last minute, under pressure, with no strategy behind the submission.
What actually works:
- Positioning before the tender is released,
- Strategic go/no-go filtering,
- Clear, direct answers that map to evaluation criteria (not "blah blah aren't we good"),
- And strong local presence that de-risks your offer for buyers.
Most Victorian agencies also publish procurement plans, contract expiry timelines and awarded contracts, which is perfect if you want to plan your BD cycle 12 to 18 months out. Search the awarded contracts on Buying for Victoria and AusTender to see who holds the work and when it comes back to market.
Planning to bid this quarter? Or just need to get on more radars?
Let's talk. Happy to share what's working for Victorian clients right now, and how to lift your win rate without burning out your team.
