Social procurement

Supporting your social procurement obligations

Your contracts carry Social Procurement Framework and Local Jobs First obligations, and they flow down to us. Here is our position on each, stated so you can take it straight into a tender response. Where we have nothing to claim in a category, we say so.

Local employment and local supply chain

A Melbourne business, working in Melbourne

Foundry is based at Williamstown and works across Victoria, with core coverage in metropolitan Melbourne. Wages, subcontractor payments and material purchasing stay in the Victorian economy, and regional work draws on regional trades where they are available.

Local subcontractors and small businesses

Our trade base is made up of local subcontracting businesses, most of them small operators. Work is distributed across that base rather than concentrated in one or two large suppliers.

Local material supply

Materials are purchased through local trade suppliers and merchants wherever the specification allows.

Social benefit suppliers

Social benefit supplier engagement
CategoryCurrent position
Aboriginal business engagement Where your contract sets an Aboriginal procurement requirement, we source through Supply Nation or your nominated supplier list, and report the spend.
Social enterprise engagement Where your contract sets a target, we place rubbish removal and waste processing with a social enterprise, and report the spend.
Australian Disability Enterprise engagement Engaged where your contract requires it.
Willingness to meet contract-specific targets Whatever target your contract sets, we work to meet it and report in the format and cycle you require.

Waste minimisation and responsible disposal

Vacant make-good generates waste: stripped fixtures, old flooring, packaging and goods left behind by former residents.

  • Waste is separated for recycling where the material and the receiving facility allow: metals, timber, cardboard and clean fill.
  • All waste is taken to lawful, licensed disposal or transfer facilities. Illegal dumping is a dismissal matter for any Foundry subcontractor.
  • Serviceable items are re-used or re-installed rather than replaced where they meet the required standard, which reduces both waste and your cost.
  • Materials are ordered to measured quantities to limit offcut and surplus waste.
  • Where you require disposal dockets as evidence of lawful disposal, they are supplied with the handover pack.

Conduct in tenanted and vulnerable-resident properties

Supplier spend is the part that gets reported. The part your residents actually experience is how our people behave in their home, when they did not choose us and cannot ask us to leave.

  • Notice and appointment windows

    Access is arranged in advance with confirmed windows, and residents are told who is coming and what will be done.

  • Identification at the door

    Personnel identify themselves on arrival rather than expecting a resident to admit an unknown tradesperson.

  • Respect for the household

    Including residents living with disability, mental illness, family violence histories, and households where English is a second language.

  • Care for the property and belongings

    Floors and furnishings protected, the work area left clean at the end of each visit, and belongings not moved without asking.

  • Experienced in complex environments

    Our people stay calm, de-escalate rather than confront, and never argue with a resident about scope or access. Social housing includes households living with mental illness, addiction and trauma, and a maintenance visit can be a hard moment in someone's day. If a situation becomes unsafe, the visit stops and your team is contacted. Everyone goes home safe, resident and tradesperson alike.

  • Screening of personnel

    National Police Checks and Working with Children Checks held for personnel attending tenanted properties, evidenced before attendance.

Reporting against your framework

If your contract requires social procurement reporting, tell us the format and reporting cycle and we will report against it.