Two WA disability organisations have won state government printing contracts valued at $1.8m, through tenders which exclude commercial outfits.
The organisations won the contracts under the WA Government’s Exemption Initiative Process, which sources work from eight organisations that employ and support people with disabilities.
The scheme allows them to receive government work without the requirement to undertake an open tender process – though they still have to cost the work at fair market value.
It is considered controversial by the local commercial print industry as private firms do not have the opportunity to compete for the work, despite the tough local print market.
[Related: Other oprinters getting government work]
Activ Australia will print for the local WA Country Health service from its Albany site in a five year contract worth $590,000.
The on-demand service will produce patient records forms, health promotion pamphlets and brochures, assemble patient records files, and store and retrieve other printed materials for WACHS in the Great Southern region.
Activ says the contract follows a successful pilot program to establish if there were efficiencies gained through flexibility related to form changes and short lead times.
Some 12 disabled employees will use Konica Minolta digital production printers to produce the work.
Westcare – whose CEO is in court on fraud charges next month – has won a two-year $1.2m contract with the Child and Adolescent Health Service to print, collate and distribute personal health record books for new parents from November.
The ‘New Beginnings’ books, which track the progress of babies, are provided to all newborn babies with distribution to 34 metropolitan and regional locations each quarter.
WA printers told ProPrint last year, when Westcare won a $1.5m contract with the WA Education Department, that while employing people with disabilities is a worthy cause, there were concerns about lack of consultation.
“Contracts like these have an impact on commercial printers in WA. It’s a hard market to do business in and a government department closing its doors to us makes it harder as it reduces the size of the pie we are all competing for,” one said.
The Westcare contract is further controversial following accusations of bullying of disabled staff by senior management and what staff say is a culture of silencing complaint, as revealed in a ProPrint investigation.
Chief executive John Mitchell goes to trial next month and former general manager Nadia Halliday narrowly avoided jail on fraud charges stemming from the alleged bullying.
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