Week of 9 February 2026

The Department of Climate Change has dropped a $24.7 million RFI for a national solar panel recycling pilot. The scope is significant: collecting and recycling up to 250,000 panels from up to 100 sites across every state and territory, starting mid-2026 and running 12-18 months.

This is the inevitable consequence of the rooftop solar boom. Australia installed panels at world-leading rates and now the first generation is reaching end of life. The government wants a program coordinator who can handle aggregation, storage, logistics, and data reporting across the whole country. They need someone with industry networks and the ability to engage external service providers through open procurement.

If you're in the waste management, recycling, or logistics space and have touched solar panels, this is worth a serious look. Closes 3 March.

DFAT has put out a $40.8 million expression of interest for Pacific Security College Phase II. Training for Pacific security practitioners across the Boe Declaration priority areas, annual peace and security dialogues, technical assistance for national security policy, and advisory board management.

This sits alongside the $26.9 million Australia Awards Philippines program that also dropped this week - scholarships, short courses, alumni engagement, and institutional partnerships. Both are significant international development contracts.

The Pacific Security College EOI closes 3 March, and they want your response to evaluation criteria in just four pages. Philippines closes 19 March.

The Department of Health is looking for a $30 million National Support Unit for the First Nations Maternal and Child Health Program. This is coordination and implementation support across funded sites nationally - Birthing on Country initiatives, workforce development, clinical governance, data management, and continuous quality improvement.

The mandatory criteria are clear: this must be a First Nations-led organisation, or have an identifiable First Nations-led organisational unit. Capability is weighted at 50%, capacity at 30%, experience at 20%. Closes 2 March.

The ABS wants a $20 million provider for anthropometric screening, blood pressure measurements, and future pathology services for the National Health Survey. Height, weight, waist measurements for everyone over 2, blood pressure for over-18s, and eventually blood and urine sample collection.

This covers all of Australia including remote areas. You need NATA accreditation, national reach, and security clearances for personnel accessing ABS data. Past experience is weighted at 50% of the evaluation. Closes 5 March.

Two tenders from Tourism Australia this week, both looking for PR and social media services. One for the Japan market - Tokyo-based delivery, culture-first campaigns, media events, TikTok and Instagram content. The other for US/UK markets - offices in LA, New York, or London required.

Technical capability is weighted heavily at 30-45% depending on the market. These are about earning attention for Australia among high-yield travellers. Japan closes 5 March, US/UK closes 6 March.

Parliament House is having a busy week on AusTender. Three separate procurements:

• Painting services: Up to 70,000 sqm per year, capacity for 100,000 sqm. Mandatory industry briefing and site inspection required. Closes 2 March.
• Audio visual services: Exclusive arrangement for AV equipment supply, installation, staging, and technical support. Must be ACT-based. Mandatory site visit 20 Feb. Closes 19 March.
• Rope access for flag changes: IRATA-qualified technicians for standby rope access on the main flag mast. $150K. Mandatory site inspection 24 Feb. Closes 17 March.

The painting contract alone is significant - 70,000 square metres is a lot of wall. You need $10 million public liability insurance and Workplace Gender Equality Act compliance.

The Australian Signals Directorate has put out an RFI for maintenance and support services at two remote sites - one near Geraldton in WA and one near Darwin in the NT. Antenna maintenance, RF equipment, configuration management, and minor electrical and HVAC support.

The catch: Australian citizenship required, TSPV security clearances, on-site presence during business hours. This is signals intelligence infrastructure. If you have the clearances and the RF expertise, it closes 20 February.

The Department of Climate Change dropped two RFIs for industry permit scheme administration - one for refrigeration and air conditioning ($20M) and one for fire protection. Both cover permitting, field engagement, training, compliance monitoring, and sector communication nationally.

These are regulatory administration contracts. You need to be incorporated under the Corporations Act and have relevant industry experience. Both close 2 March.

• Parkes Observatory cafe: CSIRO wants someone to run the cafe at The Dish - 100,000 visitors a year, 12 staff (closes 2 March)
• ADF helicopter hire: Defence needs rotary wing aircraft and flight proficiency training for 1 Aviation Regiment - 100 hours/month, AS350 or similar ($5M, closes 2 March)
• RBA psychometric testing: Reserve Bank wants an end-to-end assessment platform with Workday integration (closes 2 March)
• ABC satellite distribution: International satellite distribution services for ABC content delivery (closes 9 March)

The theme this week is the government dealing with consequences. Solar panels that need recycling. A Pacific region that needs securing. Health outcomes that need measuring. Buildings that need painting. These aren't flashy new programs - they're the maintenance and follow-through on commitments already made.

The solar recycling pilot and the First Nations maternal health contract are the two to watch. Both are nationally scoped, both have specific capability requirements, and both are early enough in their procurement cycle that preparation will matter.