Sydney Lunar Festival: visual identity system expression of interest

Terms and conditions

By submitting an expression of interest, applicants acknowledge and accept the following terms and conditions. 

Lodging a stage 1 submission 

1. Stage 1 submissions must be submitted using the online form by the closing date and closing time. 

2. Stage 1 submissions must include all the information specified in the online form.  

3. All costs incurred by applicants in any way associated with the preparation and lodgement of a stage 1 submission is entirely borne by the applicant.  

4. Failure to provide all information required as part of a stage 1 submission may result in the applicant’s submission being excluded from evaluation. 

5. Applicants must not use generative AI (that is, a machine learning platform, technology or tool used to generate or create digital content including text, images, audio, video and code) to create a stage 1 submission.  

6. All submissions lodged will become the property of the City of Sydney (the City) and on no account will they be returned to the applicant.   

Stage 2 shortlisting and presentation 

7. The City reserves the right to shortlist any number of applicants to participate in stage 2.  

8. Shortlisted applicants for stage 2 must provide a presentation in line with the instructions specified by the City. 

9. The City will pay $3,000 (excluding GST) to each shortlisted applicant on completion of a stage 2 presentation and receipt of a valid tax invoice. This is the total amount payable for a stage 2 presentation, irrespective of the number of entities, personnel or sub-contractors associated with the application.  

Information and enquiries 

10. Where an applicant has any doubt about the meaning of any aspect of the expression of interest process, the applicant must make enquiries in writing before the closing date and closing time. 

11. Applicants must carefully and thoroughly consider and check the expression of interest webpage and notify the contact person in writing of any errors, ambiguities, discrepancies, inconsistencies or omissions in the expression of interest. The City will not be liable for any such error, ambiguity, discrepancy, inconsistency or omission. 

12. By submitting an expression of interest, applicants confirm they have looked into all relevant information about the risks, possible issues and other factors that could affect their submission. Applicants also confirm they have made any necessary enquiries, are satisfied their submission is accurate and complete, and it includes the cost of meeting all legal requirements and the conditions in the expression of interest, and proper performance of the services.  

Applicant not to solicit City personnel

13. During the expression of interest and until the City makes a final decision, applicants or anyone involved in the application (including subcontractors) must not contact, talk to or try to talk to any City employee, councillor or anyone working with the City about the expression of interest or their submission. The City reserves the right to reject any submission that contravenes this condition.  

Acceptance and contract 

14. The City at its absolute discretion reserves the right to accept or reject any submission, and to cancel the expression of interest process at any time.  

15. The City reserves the right to reject the submission of any applicant who has any unresolved disputes with the City.  

16. If the City accepts an applicant’s submission following the stage 2 evaluation it will issue a notification to the applicant. This notification does not constitute a contract. The City and an applicant are legally bound on when a written contract is executed.  

17. Lodgement of an expression of interest submission will be an acknowledgement and representation by the applicant that it agrees to comply with the contract in its entirety. No material amendments to contract terms and conditions will be accepted.  

Conflict of interest 

18. In these terms and conditions, conflict of interest means an actual or potential pecuniary or non-pecuniary conflict of interest. For more information, refer to the City’s code of conduct.  

19. Applicants must disclose any conflict of interest in carrying out the requirements of the specifications and contract in writing to the City. This includes the nature and scope of the conflict and detailed arrangements proposed to resolve or manage the conflict should they be awarded the contract. The City will make the final decision regarding the conflict.  

20. If an applicant fails to disclose a conflict of interest and the City then becomes aware of the conflict, the applicant may be excluded from this expression of interest process. This includes any future process by which the City is seeking proposals for the provision of goods or services.  

Confidentiality 

21. Information provided in this expression of interest or imparted to any applicant as part of the process must only be used for the purpose of preparing and lodging a submission.  

22. Information supplied by an applicant will not be treated as commercially sensitive or confidential unless specifically requested by the applicant. 

23. Information received by the City may be subject to disclosure to the public under the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 unless it has been provided in confidence, relates to commercial sensitive information, or falls within an exemption from disclosure under that act.  

Assessment criteria 

24. Stage 1 submissions and stage 2 presentations will be evaluated in line with the criteria listed. Each criterion is critical to this expression of interest. They are not of equal weight for evaluation and are not listed in order of priority.  

25. An applicant’s compliance for each criterion will be separately evaluated using the following rating scale:  

26. If an applicant receives a score of less than 40 in any one of the criteria, they will be deemed non-compliant and not recommended for shortlisting or acceptance by the City.  

27. The City may undertake financial assessments of applicants to determine their financial capacity to carry out the works under the contract. This may be carried out by a third party appointed by the City. Applicants must provide financial information on request, which may include financial statements (profit and loss, balance sheets and notes) and management accounts / financial statements.