Victoria continues to roll out its 2025 updates to the social procurement and local industry policies. Across both sets of updates, there’s a consistent signal of a stronger focus on outcomes, compliance and alignment with broader workforce frameworks.
For organisations operating in this space, these changes are more than administrative. They reflect a maturing policy environment that is increasingly focused on measurable impact and accountability.
Social Procurement Framework Refresh (June 2025)
The Victorian Government refreshed its Social Procurement Framework (SPF) in June 2025, refining its objectives and clarifying how it aligns with other regulatory settings.
What’s changed
A clearer focus on employment pathways
The objective previously known as “Opportunities for Disadvantaged Victorians” has been renamed “Opportunities for Victorian Priority Jobseekers.” While this shift has been reflected in guidance since 2023, its formal inclusion in the SPF reinforces a more targeted and inclusive approach to workforce participation.
Streamlining workplace requirements
The outcome relating to the adoption of family violence leave has been removed from the “Supporting safe and fair workplaces” objective. This reflects the fact that these protections are now embedded in established frameworks, including the National Employment Standards, the Fair Jobs Code, and the Supplier Code of Conduct.
Stronger compliance expectations
Updates to the Supplier Code of Conduct reinforce expectations on suppliers, highlighting the importance of meeting both social and regulatory obligations.
Elevating gender equality in major projects
The explicit inclusion of the Building Equality Policy (BEP) under the “Women’s equality and safety” objective strengthens the focus on gender equality outcomes, particularly across construction and infrastructure. Although the BEP was released in 2022, the June 2025 refreshed SPF marks the first time the BEP has explicitly been written into the Social Procurement Framework itself.
What does the refresh to the SPF mean
The 2025 changes signal a tighter alignment between the SPF’s 10 objectives and broader workforce, industrial relations, and compliance policies that the Victorian Government also administer.
For Victorian buyers and suppliers, the implication is clear: social procurement is becoming more integrated with other Victorian Government policy requirements. This means that buyers and suppliers need to understand how the various policies overlap and intersect. Buyers need to understand how to correctly set up tenders and evaluate market responses, and in turn, suppliers to the Victorian government need to understand what outcomes they are required to commit to and deliver if they are the successful bidder.
Local Jobs First Amendment Act 2025 (Effective August 2025)
The Local Jobs First Amendment Act 2025 introduces more significant structural changes, expanding both the intent of the policy and the mechanisms used to enforce it. A number of the changes under the amendment were activated in August 2025, whilst other changes will only apply to new projects from July 1 2026.
New priorities added
The amendments introduce additional priorities that will shape how projects are designed and evaluated, including:
- Creating equitable opportunities for Aboriginal businesses
- Increasing participation of regional SMEs
- Promoting Australian Standards
- Encouraging design teams to prioritise local content
- Structuring tenders to support local market capacity better
These additions reinforce the role of procurement policy as a lever for localised economic and social outcomes.
Stronger enforcement powers for the Local Jobs First Commissioner
A key update of the Act is the expansion of powers for the Local Jobs First Commissioner, including:
- The ability to investigate compliance matters
- Civil penalties for non-compliance with the Local Jobs First Commissioner’s information gathering power and new site inspection power
- The ability of the Local Jobs First Commissioner to make non-binding recommendations to agencies on specific or systemic issues.
- New function to support the resolution of non-compliance issues. The Commissioner (if both contracting parties agree) can provide advice and support in the resolution of potential or actual non-compliance with the Local Jobs First Policy, an LIDP or the Act.
Agencies given more tender and contract responsibilities
Agencies have new processes to follow and implement through their projects:
- Update contestability assessment process to establish the need for a Local Industry Participation Plan (LIDP) to be prepared. If a project is deemed to be non-contestable, a LIDP will no longer be required.
- Agencies have strengthened the obligation framework to monitor and manage suppliers’ Local Jobs First obligations, including completion reporting.
- Requirement for agencies to include a contingent payment mechanism in project contracts against Local Jobs First deliverables where appropriate and feasible.
Suppliers are on notice
For suppliers, this increases the importance of:
- Accurate Local Content reporting
- Compliance with Major Project Skills Guarantee (MPSG) requirements
- Demonstrating genuine, auditable outcomes
Summary of the Victorian Government Policy Changes
Across both the SPF refresh and the Local Jobs First amendments, consistent themes have emerged:
- These respective policy updates represent a clear emphasis from the Victorian Government to attempt to streamline the procurement policy requirements.
- The Social Procurement Framework is now aligned with the other procurement policies, providing opportunities for optimisation of employment and procurement outcomes.
- The expanded powers of the Local Jobs First Commissioner will increase accountability in project delivery, including through site inspections, shifting the focus from earlier emphasis on tender commitments towards stronger delivery compliance.
With these sweeping changes across the Victorian Government policy landscape, both buyers and suppliers need to be aware of how these changes impact tender processes and delivery administration.
Where to from here
At The Fair Co., we see these changes as a positive step forward. They create greater clarity, stronger alignment and ultimately a more credible pathway for social procurement to deliver real value, both for communities and for the organisations investing in it.
With the changes, we note that these updates will require government and industries to change their processes and approaches to satisfy the new policies.
As the policy landscape continues to evolve, those who can translate these requirements into practical, scalable outcomes will be best positioned to lead.
Has your organisation adopted all these requirements yet? If not, get in contact. Next, we’re heading north to take a look at Queensland’s Procurement Policy.
