Is the 125km Local Benefits Test still in effect in Queensland?

No. The Local Benefits Test was superseded when the Queensland Procurement Policy 2026 commenced on 1 January 2026. Its replacement is the purposeful public procurement evaluation criterion under QPP 2026 Rule 20, which carries a maximum total weighting of 10-20% on significant procurement. Verified against the QPP 2026 policy text, 10 July 2026.

What weighting does local benefits carry under QPP 2026?

Under QPP 2026 Rule 20, agencies applying the purposeful public procurement criterion to significant procurement select between 2 and 4 outcomes, apply a maximum total weighting of between 10 and 20 percent of the evaluation, and weight each selected outcome between 5 and 10 percent. Local benefits, including local workforces and use of local suppliers in the supply chain, is one selectable outcome.

Is there still a 30% rule in Queensland Government procurement?

Not as an evaluation weighting. Three different 30% figures are commonly confused: the former Local Benefits Test weighting of up to 30% (superseded January 2026), the live SME procurement target of 30% of procurement spend by value to Queensland SMEs, and QPP 2026 Rule 25, which permits up-front contract payments of up to 30% for SMEs. Only the last two are current.

Resource Guide • Primary-Source Series

QPP 2026, Explained From the Policy Itself

Q: What counts as a local workforce under QPP 2026?

The QPP 2026 glossary defines a local workforce as a supplier's workforce whose usual place of residency is located within a 250km radius of the supplier's permanent place of business or established presence, and who are involved in the delivery of the goods and/or services. This is measured against the supplier's own premises, not the project site.

Q: Does QPP 2026 apply to Brisbane 2032 Games procurement?

With a carve-out: the policy states it does not apply to the extent of any direct conflict with obligations under the Brisbane 2032 Host Contract. Games-delivery procurement can therefore operate outside these rules where that conflict exists.

Rule 20, the 250km local workforce definition, and the three different 30% figures everyone confuses. Every claim on this page cites the Queensland Procurement Policy 2026 directly. Verified against the policy text, 10 July 2026.

Why this page exists. On 1 January 2026 the Queensland Procurement Policy 2026 replaced the former framework, retiring the 125km Local Benefits Test that this site, and much of the industry, had explained for years. On 10 July 2026 we corrected our own guidance sitewide and published this page against the primary document. The original 125km guide remains online, marked superseded, as part of our corrections record.

What QPP 2026 is

The Queensland Procurement Policy 2026 is the government's overarching policy for the procurement of goods and services, commencing 1 January 2026, with the exception of the Procurement Assurance Model incentive scheme component, which commences 1 January 2027. QPP 2026

It is structured in five parts: the Queensland Procurement Approach, the Queensland Procurement Rules, the Procurement Assurance Model (PAM), a Glossary, and a Record of changes. The Rules replace the Queensland Procurement Policy 2023. QPP 2026, structure

The Approach is built on five foundational pillars aimed at maximising value for taxpayers' money, strengthening local businesses, simplifying procurement processes, encouraging innovation, and creating positive economic, environmental and social impact. The first, Value for Queensland, anchors the value-for-money framework. QPP 2026, Part 1

How the Rules work: must, should, may

Each rule carries one of three force levels. Must rules are mandatory for agencies. Should rules are not mandatory but represent best practice agencies are encouraged to apply. May rules give agencies flexibility. Reading a rule's verb tells you whether it binds. QPP 2026, Rules

The Rules also provide that for routine procurement, agencies invite at least one local supplier, small and family business, or Queensland regional business to respond where practical, documenting a reason where it is not. QPP 2026, Rules

Significant procurement and the $500,000 floor

Several of the strongest obligations attach only to significant procurement: procurement that is high value and/or high risk, with agency thresholds that cannot be set lower than $500,000 including GST. If a procurement sits below the agency's significant threshold, Rule 20's criterion is not required for it. QPP 2026, definitions

Rule 20: the purposeful public procurement criterion

This is the mechanism that replaced the Local Benefits Test, and the most misquoted part of the policy. The mechanics, from the rule itself:

Applies to

Significant procurement. The criterion must be applied unless there is a documented reason why it cannot be. Rule 20

Outcomes selected

Between two and four of the purposeful public procurement outcomes outlined in the policy, chosen per procurement as part of the procurement strategy. Rule 20

Total weighting

A maximum weighting of between 10 and 20% of the total evaluation. Rule 20

Per-outcome weighting

Each selected outcome is weighted between 5 and 10%. Rule 20

Where local fits

"Local benefits, including local workforces and use of local suppliers in the supply chain" is one selectable outcome on the policy's menu. It scores only when an agency selects it, and alone carries the 5-10% per-outcome band. Rule 20

Two practical consequences. First, there is no automatic location score: the criterion exists only on significant procurement, and local benefits only counts when selected. Second, the ceiling moved: the whole criterion tops out at 20%, and the local outcome alone at 10%. Anyone quoting a 30% location weighting is quoting the retired framework. The policy's own Record of changes shows Rule 20 was updated at publication (v1.1, 11 November 2025). QPP 2026, Record of changes

Who counts as local now: the 250km definition

The load-bearing definitions live in the Glossary, and the geometry surprised almost everyone:

Local workforce

A supplier's workforce whose usual place of residency is located within a 250km radius of the supplier's permanent place of business or established presence, and who are involved in the delivery of the goods and/or services. Glossary

Local supplier

A Queensland supplier that maintains a local workforce. Glossary

Outside south-east Queensland

Where goods or services are delivered outside SEQ, agencies may define local by applying a limited radius between the supplier's premises or established presence and the delivery point. Discretionary, with no fixed distance in the policy. Glossary

Note what changed: the former test measured your workforce against the project site (125km). The current definition measures your workforce against your own premises (250km). Proximity to a project site is no longer part of the definition at all, though it remains commercially real for mobilisation cost and for regional-benefits responses, and agencies retain the discretionary radius outside SEQ.

The three different 30% figures

Most of the confusion in circulation comes from three unrelated numbers that all happen to be 30. Only two are current:

30%

Superseded — LBT weighting

The former Local Benefits Test could carry an evaluation weighting of up to 30%. Retired 1 January 2026 with the framework that contained it. Old guidance PDFs quoting it remain online.

30%

Live — SME spend target

The government's target to source 30% of procurement by value from Queensland SMEs. A spend target measured across government, not an evaluation weighting on your tender.

30%

Live — Rule 25 up-front payments

QPP 2026 Rule 25 permits up-front contract payments of up to 30% for SMEs. A cash-flow provision, not a score.

Old rule vs new rules, side by side

What replaced the 125km Rule: the former Local Benefits Test, 125km from the project site with up to 30% weighting, superseded 1 January 2026, versus QPP 2026 Rule 20, 250km from the supplier's own premises, criterion weighted 10-20%

	Former framework (to Dec 2025)	QPP 2026 (from 1 Jan 2026)
Mechanism	Local Benefits Test	Purposeful public procurement criterion (Rule 20)
Geometry	Workforce within 125km of the project site	Workforce within 250km of the supplier's own premises
Weighting	Up to 30%	Criterion 10-20% total; each outcome 5-10%
Local's place	The test itself	One selectable outcome among 2-4 chosen per procurement
Applies to	Significant procurement under the former policy	Significant procurement; thresholds no lower than $500K inc GST

Rule 20 Local Workforce Calculator

The definition is measurable, so measure it. Enter your premises postcode and your workforce's residential postcodes; the tool computes how many fall within 250km straight-line of your premises and writes the factual sentence a tender response can carry. It reports a measurement, not a verdict: whether and how local benefits scores on your tender is set by the tender documents.

Supplier premises postcode (permanent place of business) Workforce residential postcodes (comma, space or line separated, up to 30)

Measured — workforce within 250km of premises

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Factual statement for tender use (asserts only the values computed above)

Straight-line (haversine) between postcode centroids. QPP 2026 does not prescribe a measurement method; state your method, as this statement does. Centroid table covers Queensland postcodes; interstate or unrecognised postcodes are listed and excluded from the percentage. Not a determination of eligibility or score.

What suppliers should actually do now

Know your own 250km number. The definition is about your premises, so the percentage is stable across tenders; compute it once, keep the evidence behind it. Read each tender's criterion. Which 2-4 outcomes the agency selected, and their weightings, are in the tender documents, not in the policy. Check the significant threshold. Below $500K (or the agency's higher threshold), Rule 20's criterion is not required. If you are an SME, know the other two 30%s. The spend target shapes agency behaviour in your favour, and Rule 25's up-front payment provision is worth raising in contract discussions. Watch PAM. The Procurement Assurance Model's incentive scheme component commences 1 January 2027 and will add a supplier-assurance layer on top of these rules. QPP 2026

Cheat Sheet — Current Edition

QPP 2026: Rule 20 & the 250km Local Workforce Definition

3 pages · A4 · figures as at July 2026 · no email required

DOWNLOAD THE CHEAT SHEET

The Games carve-out

One line in the policy matters disproportionately for the 2032 program this site covers: QPP 2026 states it does not apply to the extent of any direct conflict with obligations under the Brisbane 2032 Host Contract. Games-delivery procurement can therefore operate outside these rules where that conflict exists, which is worth remembering every time a venue package is benchmarked against standard procurement expectations. QPP 2026

Sources

Primary: Queensland Procurement Policy 2026 (policy page and PDF, Queensland Government), text verified 10 July 2026. Supporting official guidance: Supporting purposeful public procurement (Business Queensland). Historical, superseded: the former Local Benefits Test guidelines, retained here as the record of what changed. Our sitewide correction of the former framework was published 10 July 2026; the superseded guide remains at /125km-guide/.

General information relaying the published policy. Not legal or procurement advice; weightings and criteria on any given tender are set by that tender's documents, which prevail. Figures as at 10 July 2026. Independent. Not affiliated with the Queensland Government or Brisbane 2032.