CORONAVIRUS — RAPID ANTIGEN TESTS
153. Hon MARTIN ALDRIDGE to the Leader of the House
representing the Minister for Public Sector Management:
I refer to the procurement of rapid
antigen tests by the state government.
(1) How many RATs has the state
ordered and received to date?
(2) What procurement process has
been utilised by the state to procure supply?
(3) How many charter flights have
been utilised to date, and what is the relevant cost of each flight?
(4) What is the cost to date of
procuring RATs identified in part (1)?
Hon SUE
ELLERY replied:
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question.
(1) The government has ordered 110.7
million rapid antigen tests and 30.1 million have been received.
(2) Due to the
rate of the emergence of Omicron, short lead times for supply and global
competition to secure RATs, the WA government used the emergency provisions
within the Procurement Act 2020 to procure supply. This approach included
approval of funding by the relevant delegate, and direct negotiation with the supplier for product quality, delivery
schedule and costs. The WA Department of Health used purchase orders
approved by the relevant delegate to place the order with the suppliers.
(3) Two charter
flights were used to expedite delivery at a cost of $700 000 per flight.
(4) The total
cost of procuring the RATs was $578.9 million.