Prequalification Grading Explained: Which Grade You Need to Bid

If a construction tender requires a prequalification you do not hold, you are disqualified before price is even opened. Prequalification is the first thing evaluators check on built-environment tenders, so understand the scheme named in the tender before you spend a week on a bid you cannot legally win.

What construction prequalification is

There is no single national register in Australia. Prequalification is state-run: New South Wales and Victoria each operate contractor prequalification schemes, Queensland runs the PQC system, and Western Australia runs the Builders Prequalification Scheme for government building work. Many councils also require their own pre-registration. The tender names the scheme and level; you must hold what it asks for.

Levels and categories vary by state

Each scheme caps the contract size you can be prequalified for - Queensland's PQC system, for example, prequalifies contractors by maximum contract value within work categories. Check the current thresholds on the scheme's own website and the level stated in the tender.

Classes of works matter as much as the number

• Building and construction
• Civil construction
• Electrical and communications
• Mechanical services
• Specialist trades

A prequalification in one category does not carry to another. Match both the level and the category to the tender.

How to upgrade

Prequalification is based on track record and financial capacity in the relevant category. You move up by completing larger qualifying projects and demonstrating financial capacity for the next band. Keep your registration active — a lapsed registration disqualifies you just as a missing one does.