NSW Agriculture Commissioner
Contracting an independent Agriculture Commissioner
The NSW Government is contracting an Agriculture Commissioner to provide independent advice to Government on strategic agricultural land use issues to inform strategic planning decisions and support a more sustainable and productive agriculture industry in NSW.
The Commissioner will Chair a pilot Farm Practices Panel, to be established by Primary Industries (DPI), to test an approach for providing authoritative guidance on acceptable farm practices by reviewing an agricultural industry code of practice, which can be used to assist in providing clarity and consistency for planning decisions and mitigating land use conflict.
The Commissioner will also provide advice to support DPI to continue to work across government and progress work underway related to agricultural land use and to explore opportunities to provide clarity on the Government’s strategic approach to balancing competing policy objectives for agricultural and rural land use planning.
DPI has initiated an open tender process for the independent Agriculture Commissioner.
Prospective suppliers can respond to the tender via the NSW Gov eTendering platform.
Closing date for responses is 29 January 2024 at 10.00am AEST.
Agriculture Commissioner Tender FAQs
How do I respond to the independent Agriculture Commissioner tender?
There are three key steps to respond through the tender process:
- Register to become a supplier and sell your services through Supplier Hub, if you have not already done so;
- Locate the tender by navigating to “Supplier Guidance” on the buy.nsw top toolbar, then selecting “Open Opportunities”. Here you can find the tender advertisement in the listing, or search using the tender registration number (P23-6476);
- Review the tender documents and follow the instructions to prepare and submit your tender.
Please note that you cannot submit an application through any other method. Applications MUST be submitted through the buy.nsw portal. If you send anything through to the Director Office of Commissioners or the Department, your response can be deemed non-conforming.
Do I need an ABN to apply for the Agriculture Commissioner tender? How do I obtain one?
Yes, you will need an ABN to respond to the tender. You can register through Supplier Hub without an ABN but will need to include an ABN in your supplier account details to complete your final tender response.
You can apply for an ABN through the Australian Government Australian Business Register.
What will be the time commitment to perform services as the Agriculture Commissioner?
The provision of services will be for a term of three (3) years. The current program of service projections envisage work orders up to 100 days per annum. The Commissioner will provide services from time to time under agreed work orders setting out deliverables, scope and duration of projects. Delivery timeframes and schedules for particular projects will be negotiated for each work order.
Are there location requirements related to this tender? What are the travel requirements involved?
Prospective suppliers will be considered across all NSW locations. Occasional travel will be required, primarily within NSW.
Due to my occupation or other roles, I may have a potential conflict of interest, will this impact my application?
Through the completion of your response to the tender documentation, you will be required to declare any potential conflicts of interest. This includes professional and political affiliations, and any other consultancy work being undertaken. If any of these interests creates a real or perceived conflict of interest, we can discuss ways that the conflict may be managed.
The tender requires a CV to be attached to the response. Is this the CV of the respondent or the person supplying the services?
Please attach the CV of key personnel that are proposed to deliver the services.
What should be included in the CV?
Review the requirements and criteria outlined in the tender documents and include your relevant skills and experience in your CV.
What if I have further questions?
Please contact Suzanne Robinson, Director Office of the Commissioners at suzanne.robinson@dpi.nsw.gov.au for any questions relating to the tender. All queries will ONLY be answered and published via an addendum attached to the advertisement. Email notifications of all addenda will be automatically sent if you have downloaded the tender documents.
Please note there will be limited availability to answer any queries between 25 December 2023 and 7 January 2024.The final date for submitting queries or questions will be 19 January 2024 to allow time for a response to be provided and included as an addendum to the tender.
Incumbent NSW Agriculture Commissioner
Report on options for an independent Agriculture Commissioner
On 19 July 2023 the Minister for Agriculture tasked the incumbent Agriculture Commissioner, Mr Daryl Quinlivan, to deliver a report to the NSW Government on the possible role and functions of an independent Agriculture Commissioner.
The report includes a number of recommendations based on Mr Quinlivan’s experience in the role and consultation with stakeholders. The NSW Government response to the report sets out a pathway for Government to establish an independent Agriculture Commissioner.
Previous reports
The NSW Agriculture Commissioner prepared two reports relating to land use conflict and agriculture:
- Improving the Prospects for Agriculture and Regional Australia in the NSW Planning System (PDF, 798.68 KB)
- Renewable energy generation and agriculture in NSW’s rural landscape and economy – growth sectors on a complementary path (PDF, 1754.26 KB)
- NSW Government response to both reports (PDF, 247.57 KB)
Mr Daryl Quinlivan was appointed to the role of NSW Agriculture Commissioner in August 2020.
In his role as Commissioner, Mr Quinlivan provided advice on agriculture related matters to the Minister for Agriculture and NSW Government generally. He provided advice on managing the interests of producers and rural businesses and communities in the NSW planning framework.
Mr Daryl Quinlivan has held several senior roles in the Australian Public Service, working closely on agriculture and trade related issues. More recently he has served as Secretary of the Commonwealth Department of Agriculture and Water Resources (2015 – 2020). Previously he has served as Head of Office for the Commonwealth Productivity Commission (2013 - 2015), and as Deputy Secretary at the Commonwealth Department of Agriculture (2000 - 2011).
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