DFAT will go to market for a managing contractor to implement the second phase of Australia's Humanitarian Logistics Capability (HLC).

The HLC enables the Australian Government to respond better, faster, and more efficiently to humanitarian crises overseas. It rapidly provides humanitarian emergency relief supplies to partner governments and humanitarian partners for distribution. It procures, pre-positions, and transports supplies, and provides access to logistics personnel and expertise. The HLC is also available to provide logistics support for consular crises and other Australian Government needs.

Over the last five years the scale and complexity of humanitarian crises has significantly increased. The design for HLC Phase II will reflect these changes to the pace, scale and duration of our humanitarian responses. The design will also incorporate recommendations from the 2021 Mid-Term Review and will reflect the expanded scope of HLC to support work on humanitarian preparedness as well as for development programs.

DFAT is currently planning the new phase of HLC and will approach the market through a two-step procurement process commencing in early 2024. A request for Expressions of Interest (REOI) in February 2024 would be Step 1 of the process. A failure to respond to the RFEOI would result in a potential respondent not being invited to participate in the subsequent Request for Tenders (RFT) Step 2 of the process. An RFT for the Phase II would be issued in June 2024 with mobilisation to commence in 2025. The proposed procurement will be listed on the AusTender website when it is released to the market.