Purchasing and Procurement Procedure

Nomenclature

Term	Definition
ApprovalMax	The approval-workflow system Westlink uses to raise and approve purchase-order requests (and, under GOV-PRO-004, supplier invoices) before they are actioned.
Approved Supplier List	The Westlink-maintained list of suppliers and sub-contractors that have completed pre-qualification under QHSE-PRO-002 and are authorised for engagement.
Capital Purchase	The acquisition of a tangible asset with an extended useful life (for example plant, vehicles, IT infrastructure or fit-out) that is capitalised rather than expensed, and which is subject to additional whole-of-life and approval considerations.
Goods	Tangible products acquired by Westlink — consumer goods (for final use, such as vehicles, office furniture and stationery) or industrial goods (used in delivering a customer scope, such as raw materials and equipment).
Goods Inwards Inspection	The verification, on delivery, that goods or services received conform to the purchase order — correct item, quantity, specification and condition — before receipt is confirmed.
Procurement	The end-to-end function of fulfilling Westlink’s requirements for goods and services — identifying the need, sourcing, evaluating and committing — including the strategic and supplier-relationship aspects that continue after an order is placed.
Purchasing	The transactional subset of procurement — placing an order for goods or services and managing it through to fulfilment.
Purchase Order (PO)	The document that commits Westlink to acquire specified goods or services from a supplier on stated terms; it records the specification, quantity, price, delivery and the terms and conditions of purchase.
Requisitioner	The employee who identifies a need for goods or services and initiates the purchasing process for it.
Three-Way Match	The control check that the purchase order, the evidence of receipt (Goods Inwards Inspection or service acceptance) and the supplier invoice agree before the invoice is passed to GOV-PRO-004 for payment approval.
WMS	Westlink Management System.
Xero	The cloud accounting system Westlink uses to generate approved purchase orders and to record purchasing transactions.

Purpose

This procedure describes how Westlink purchases goods and services — from identifying a need, through sourcing and committing to a supplier, to receiving and verifying what was ordered. It ensures that purchased goods and services meet Westlink’s quality, safety, environmental and commercial requirements, that every commitment is authorised by a person with the authority to make it, and that Westlink pays only for goods and services it has ordered and received.

This procedure satisfies ISO 9001:2015 cl.8.4 (control of externally provided processes, products and services), and supports the procurement controls of ISO 45001:2018 cl.8.1.4 and ISO 14001:2026 cl.8.1.

Scope

This procedure applies to the purchase of all goods and services acquired by Westlink, including consumer goods, industrial goods, services, sub-contracted work and capital purchases, across all business units and on customer or third-party sites where Westlink directs the purchase.

The procedure begins when a need for goods or services is identified and ends when the goods or services have been received, verified, and the supplier invoice has been matched and passed for payment. The following related processes are deliberately outside its scope:

• Supplier qualification, the Approved Supplier List and the Supplier Code of Conduct are governed by the Supplier and Subcontractor Management Procedure (QHSE-PRO-002); supplier prequalification by the Major and Minor Supplier Prequalification Procedures (GOV-PRO-003 and GOV-PRO-005). This procedure references those at the supplier-selection step.

• Approval and payment of supplier invoices are governed by the Payables Approval Procedure (GOV-PRO-004). This procedure hands the matched, receipted invoice to GOV-PRO-004.

• Anti-bribery and corruption obligations are governed by the Anti-Bribery and Corruption Policy (GOV-POL-012); non-conforming purchased product is managed under the Hazard and Incident Management Procedure (QHSE-PRO-001).

References

This procedure is read in conjunction with the standards, legislation and internal documents listed in §7 Applicable Standards and Legislation. Key references include ISO 9001:2015 cl.8.4, ISO 45001:2018 cl.8.1.4, ISO 14001:2026 cl.8.1, the Modern Slavery Act 2018 (Cth), the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth), AS ISO 37001:2016 (anti-bribery management systems), and the JOSCAR-AU accreditation supply-chain requirements.

Definitions

Defined terms used in this procedure are listed in the Nomenclature table in the front matter. The terms Procurement and Purchasing are used in their specific senses defined there: procurement is the end-to-end function; purchasing is the transactional placing and fulfilment of an order.

Roles and Responsibilities

The following roles have specific responsibilities under this procedure. The duties of requesting, committing, receiving and paying are separated so that no single person can both order goods and authorise their payment.

Role	Responsibility	When
Requisitioner (any employee initiating a purchase)	Identifies the need; confirms whether a suitable approved supplier exists; communicates the requirement and specification; obtains quotations where required; raises the purchase requisition or purchase order for approval.	At the start of any purchase
Project Manager	Approves project-related purchases within delegated authority; confirms the cost is valid and correctly attributed to the project; verifies budget availability before commitment.	On each project purchase
Chartering Manager	Approves ocean-freight and charter-related purchases within delegated authority.	On each charter purchase
Operations Manager	Confirms that suppliers used are on the Approved Supplier List (QHSE-PRO-002); approves non-project operational purchases within delegated authority; resolves supplier performance issues arising from a purchase.	Ongoing
Finance & Technology Manager	Owns this procedure; approves purchases above the project / charter tier and, with the CEO, commitments above the approval threshold; confirms IT and capital purchases meet Westlink standards.	Ongoing; on higher-value and capital purchases
Chief Executive Officer	Co-approves commitments above the approval threshold; approves capital purchases above the financial delegations; approves exceptions to this procedure.	On commitments above the threshold; on capital purchases; on exceptions
Receiver (person taking delivery)	Conducts the Goods Inwards Inspection or service acceptance; confirms receipt against the purchase order; reports shortfalls, damage or non-conformance.	On delivery of goods or completion of service
Accounts Administrator	Performs the three-way match (purchase order, receipt and invoice) and passes the matched invoice to the Payables Approval Procedure (GOV-PRO-004); maintains procurement records.	On receipt of each supplier invoice

Procedure

Identifying the Procurement Need

The Requisitioner identifies the goods or services required and determines their nature, because the nature of the purchase governs the controls that apply:

• Whether the requirement is for goods or for a service;

• Whether it is a consumer item, an industrial good or service used in delivering a customer scope, or sub-contracted work;

• Whether it is a capital purchase (refer §6.8), which carries additional approval and whole-of-life considerations; and

• Whether the goods or services carry quality, work health and safety, environmental, information security or defence supply-chain risk that must be specified to the supplier and verified on receipt.

The Requisitioner confirms the requirement is justified, budgeted and not already covered by an existing framework agreement or standing arrangement before proceeding.

Supplier Selection

Goods and services are purchased only from suppliers on the Approved Supplier List. The Requisitioner first checks whether a suitable approved supplier already exists for the requirement.

• Where a suitable approved supplier exists, the Requisitioner proceeds to request quotations (refer §6.3) or to purchase under the existing arrangement.

• Where no suitable approved supplier exists, the supplier must be qualified before engagement under the Supplier and Subcontractor Management Procedure (QHSE-PRO-002) and, for prequalification, the Major or Minor Supplier Prequalification Procedure (GOV-PRO-003 or GOV-PRO-005). This procedure does not restate that process; the purchase does not proceed until the supplier is approved and added to the Approved Supplier List.

Engaging a supplier that is not on the Approved Supplier List is permitted only by documented exception under QHSE-PRO-002, with the rationale, a time limit and the date by which the supplier must complete qualification recorded.

Requesting and Evaluating Quotations

For purchases that are not covered by a fixed-price framework agreement or catalogue, the Requisitioner requests quotations from one or more approved suppliers. The number of quotations sought is proportionate to the value and risk of the purchase and is consistent with the financial delegations; higher-value and higher-risk purchases are competitively quoted, and a single-source purchase is justified and recorded.

When requesting quotations, the Requisitioner communicates the full requirement to the supplier so that the supplier can meet it. The information provided includes, as applicable:

• The specification — material standards and grades, drawings, quantities and tolerances;

• Hazardous substance and dangerous goods information, and any work health and safety requirements for the goods or for work performed on a Westlink or customer site;

• Environmental requirements (for example waste, emissions or life-cycle considerations) relevant to the goods or service;

• Information security and defence supply-chain requirements where the supplier will handle Westlink personal information or OFFICIAL / OFFICIAL:Sensitive data; and

• The required delivery date, place of delivery and the terms and conditions of purchase.

Quotations are evaluated on cost-effectiveness — not lowest price alone — taking into account quality, work health and safety, environmental performance, price, lead time and the supplier’s ability to meet Westlink’s and the customer’s requirements. The evaluation and the selected quotation are recorded.

Commitment Approval and Purchase Orders

A purchase commits Westlink to a cost and must be authorised before the order is placed. The Requisitioner raises a purchase-order request in ApprovalMax, recording the supplier, specification, quantity, agreed price, delivery requirement and the project or cost centre to which the cost belongs.

The purchase-order request is reviewed and approved in ApprovalMax by the person with the delegated authority for the value and type of purchase. Approval authority follows Westlink’s financial delegations, consistent with the approval routing in the Payables Approval Procedure (GOV-PRO-004). Within the delegated limit, project-related purchases are approved by the Project Manager, ocean-freight and charter purchases by the Chartering Manager, and other purchases by the Finance & Technology Manager. Commitments above the approval threshold are co-approved by the Chief Executive Officer and the Finance & Technology Manager. The approver confirms the commitment is valid, budgeted and correctly attributed before approving.

Before approval, the approver confirms the purchase order carries the correct terms and conditions for the purchase. The standard terms and conditions of purchase apply by default; the approver checks whether any special terms are required and that they are referenced or attached, including:

• Reference to a framework agreement, standing offer or supply contract under which the purchase is made (so the agreed terms, not just the standard terms, govern it);

• A Statement of Work or scope schedule for a service or sub-contract, defining deliverables, acceptance criteria and milestones;

• Customer flow-down terms where the purchase supports a customer contract that imposes back-to-back obligations (for example insurance limits, security, or delivery terms); and

• Any specification, quality, work health and safety, environmental or information security conditions specific to the goods or service.

On approval, Xero generates the purchase order, which is issued to the supplier with the applicable terms and conditions and any required attachments (specifications, drawings, safety data sheets, framework agreement or Statement of Work). Where a requirement changes after a purchase order has been issued, the purchase order is revised and reissued so that the order always reflects the current requirement; a verbal change is not relied upon.

Receipt, Inspection and Verification

On delivery of goods, or completion of a service, the Receiver verifies what was received against the purchase order before confirming receipt. The Goods Inwards Inspection confirms, as applicable:

• The correct item, quantity and specification were delivered;

• The goods are undamaged and within any shelf-life or condition requirement; and

• For a service, that the work was completed to the agreed scope and standard before it is accepted.

Where the goods or service conform, the Receiver confirms receipt and records it against the purchase order. Where they do not conform — wrong item, short or over delivery, damage, or work not to standard — the Receiver does not accept the delivery, records the non-conformance, and the matter is resolved with the supplier (return, replacement, credit or rework). Non-conforming purchased product that affects a customer scope, or that carries a safety or environmental risk, is raised and managed under the Hazard and Incident Management Procedure (QHSE-PRO-001) and reflected in the supplier’s performance record under QHSE-PRO-002.

Invoice Matching and Payment

When the supplier invoice is received, the Accounts Administrator performs a three-way match — confirming the purchase order, the evidence of receipt (Goods Inwards Inspection or service acceptance) and the invoice agree on supplier, goods or service, quantity and price. A discrepancy is resolved with the Requisitioner or the supplier before the invoice proceeds.

A matched invoice is passed to the Payables Approval Procedure (GOV-PRO-004) for approval, payee-account verification and payment. The approval, verification and payment controls are not repeated here; this procedure ensures that an invoice reaches payment only when it is supported by an approved purchase order and confirmed receipt.

Ethical Procurement and Probity

Purchasing decisions are made honestly, fairly and in Westlink’s interest. Everyone involved in purchasing must:

• Declare and manage any conflict of interest — for example a personal or family interest in a supplier — and take no part in a purchasing decision affected by it, consistent with the Code of Conduct (HR-STD-001);

• Not offer, give, solicit or accept any bribe, secret commission, kickback or improper benefit in connection with a purchase, in accordance with the Anti-Bribery and Corruption Policy (GOV-POL-012) and AS ISO 37001:2016;

• Apply Westlink’s modern slavery expectations to purchasing — preferring suppliers that manage modern slavery risk and flowing the Supplier Code of Conduct (QHSE-PRO-002 §6.9) down to the purchase, consistent with the Modern Slavery Act 2018 (Cth); and

• Treat supplier pricing, quotations and commercial information as confidential and not use it improperly.

Capital Purchases

A capital purchase — plant, vehicles, IT infrastructure or fit-out capitalised rather than expensed — follows this procedure with the following additional controls:

• The business need, options and whole-of-life cost (acquisition, operation, maintenance and disposal) are documented before commitment;

• The purchase is approved at the level set by Westlink’s financial delegations for capital expenditure, with capital above the delegation approved by the Chief Executive Officer; and

• The asset is recorded in the asset register on receipt, and IT infrastructure purchases meet Westlink information security standards (confirmed by the Finance & Technology Manager).

Emergency, Urgent and Low-Value Purchases

Where an operational emergency or a genuinely urgent need does not allow the full sourcing and approval sequence to be completed first, a purchase may be made to the minimum extent necessary, with the verbal or interim approval of a person holding the relevant delegated authority. The purchase order, approval and supporting record are completed retrospectively as soon as practicable, and the reason for the urgency is recorded.

Low-value purchases below the threshold set in the financial delegations may follow a simplified path — a single quotation and a single delegated approval — provided the supplier is approved and the receipt and matching controls still apply. The simplified path is not used to split a larger purchase to avoid the approval that would otherwise apply.

Procurement Records and Document Control

Procurement records — requisitions and approvals, quotations and the evaluation, purchase orders, Goods Inwards Inspection and receipt records, and records of non-conformance and its resolution — are retained as documented information under the Document Retention Schedule (GOV-SCH-001). The records demonstrate that each purchase was authorised, that the requirement was communicated to the supplier, and that what was paid for was ordered and received.

Applicable Standards and Legislation

The following standards, legislation and frameworks apply to the control of purchasing and procurement at Westlink.

• ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management Systems — Requirements — cl. 8.4 (control of externally provided processes, products and services: cl. 8.4.1 general and evaluation of providers, cl. 8.4.2 type and extent of control, cl. 8.4.3 information for external providers) and cl. 8.6 (release of products and services).

• ISO 45001:2018 Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems — Requirements — cl. 8.1.4.1 (procurement — establishing controls so that procured goods and services conform to the OH&S management system).

• ISO 14001:2026 Environmental Management Systems — Requirements — cl. 8.1 (operational planning and control, including a life-cycle perspective and environmental requirements for procured goods and services).

• Modern Slavery Act 2018 (Cth) — s.13–16 (reporting entity obligations), s.3 (modern slavery definition)

• ISO 37001:2016 Anti-Bribery Management Systems (informative reference)

• Work Health and Safety Act 2020 (WA) — s.19–27 (duties), Part 3 ss.35–39 (incident notification)

• Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) — APPs 1–13, Part IIIC (NDB scheme), s.26WK–WR

• UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (2011)

• JOSCAR — Joint Supply Chain Accreditation Register — Supply chain assurance requirements across security, governance, privacy, ethics

• Defence Industry Security Program (DISP) — Security Governance Framework — Membership obligations, security incident reporting