The Western Australian (WA) Government has released a new strategy to reshape procurement across the public sector, shifting focus from technical capability to building procurement as a recognised profession.
Published by the Department of Treasury and Finance (DTF), the Western Australian Procurement Professionalisation Strategy 2026-2030 replaces the Procurement Capability Development Strategy 2022-2025, setting out a four-year roadmap to strengthen procurement leadership, workforce capability and career pathways across government.
Rather than introducing new procurement rules, the strategy builds on the existing legislative framework established by the Procurement Act 2020 and the Western Australian Procurement Rules.
Its focus is on ensuring the people responsible for procurement have the skills, leadership capability and professional recognition required to deliver increasingly complex procurement outcomes.
The strategy follows a series of public sector reforms, with procurement functional leadership transferring from the former Department of Finance to DTF in 2025.
It also responds to findings from the 2025 Procurement Capability Benchmarking Survey and the Workforce Survey, which identified uneven capabilities across agencies despite significant progress in procurement maturity in recent years.
According to the document, larger procurement functions generally demonstrated stronger strategic planning capabilities, while smaller agencies often had solid compliance foundations but faced challenges in developing more advanced procurement capability.
WA’s procurement operating model also differs from many other Australian jurisdictions, with the Department of Housing and Works undertaking many projects above threshold values on behalf of agencies, creating unique workforce planning and capability challenges.
To address these issues, the strategy is built around three core elements: laying the foundation, strengthening capability and achieving strategic impact.
The first element focuses on attracting and retaining procurement professionals through clearer career pathways, standardised job descriptions, graduate and career-switch programs, onboarding initiatives and stronger partnerships with universities and TAFEs.
DTF also proposes creating a central talent pool and clearer progression pathways to establish procurement as an attractive long-term career within the public sector.
Rather than relying solely on traditional training, the second element centres on capability development.
The strategy outlines plans for targeted learning programs, advanced procurement qualifications, micro-credentials, continuing professional development frameworks, communities of practice and improved digital learning resources.
Data literacy and practical procurement tools also feature prominently as procurement becomes increasingly analytical and technology-enabled.
The third element seeks to elevate procurement’s strategic impact within government, with planned initiatives including executive shadowing opportunities, leadership engagement forums, executive briefings, annual benchmarking, a biennial state of Western Australian public sector procurement profession report, thought leadership speaker series and the development of a CPO success profile.
Together, these initiatives aim to position procurement leaders as trusted strategic advisers rather than primarily operational practitioners.
The strategy also places responsibility for capability uplift across the entire public sector rather than solely within procurement teams.
Agencies are encouraged to embed procurement capability into workforce planning, recruitment, performance management and governance processes, aligning procurement development with broader organisational capability initiatives.
“A skilled, professional and outcomes-oriented public sector procurement workforce will be critical to realising a strong and diversified economy, accessible healthcare and housing, quality services and infrastructure, safe and inclusive communities and a healthy environment,” said Minister for Finance David Michael.
“I endorse this strategy. It sets a clear path to elevate procurement practice, employ, upskill and retain talented professionals in the public service, and deliver greater value for Western Australians.”
To support implementation, DTF has released an accompanying Agency Implementation Guide that provides practical steps for agencies to assess current capabilities, prioritise areas for improvement and implement actions across seven procurement capability uplift levers.
“I encourage agencies to start with the basics: understand your current capability, identify priority areas and take practical steps toward a professionalised procurement function. Continuous improvement, not perfection, is the goal,” said Under Treasurer Joann Wilkie.
“Together, we can build a procurement workforce that is respected, future-focused and equipped to deliver for Western Australians.”
By 2030, DTF’s vision is that procurement within the WA public sector will be recognised as a profession that drives public value through capability, consistency and credibility.
