Government Procurement Board


About the Government Procurement Board

The Government Procurement Board was established in 2001 under the Government Procurement Regulation 2007 and the Government Procurement Act 2001 (Act) which prescribes the Board's functions and responsibilities. The Board reviews and advises ACT Government entities, Directors General and Ministers on procurement issues and practices in the Territory, and reviews procurement proposals in accordance with the Regulation.

The Government Procurement Board generally meet each Tuesday to consider procurement proposals and other business, as required.

The Board is comprised of nine members: five are ACT Government employees (including the chair and deputy chair) and four are non-government employee members. Members are appointed by the Special Minister of State and are selected because of their experience in procurement from the government and/or industry perspective.

The current members are:

Bettina Konti (Chair)

Bettina joined the ranks of ACT government as Chief Digital Officer in May 2018. A member of the Strategic Board, she is responsible for driving the whole of ACT government digital, data and technology strategy direction. Her priorities include achieving the ACT’s digital strategy objectives, and ensuring ACT government and its services are focussed around the needs of people, including business and community groups, as well as the ACT government’s workforce. Bettina is an experienced senior executive, digital strategist, program manager and CIO. She is an advocate for human centred and applied design techniques. She has extensive experience in leading large complex programs to achieve transformational change.

Geoffrey Rutledge (Deputy Chair)

Geoffrey Rutledge is the Deputy Director-General, Environment, Water and Emissions Reduction, Environment Planning and Sustainable Development Directorate.  Geoffrey leads the ACT Government’s response to climate change, energy efficiency, water, and our natural environment. In his pursuit to shape Canberra into a sustainable city, Geoffrey’s aim is to partner with both private and public sector contributors to make a collective difference to our community. He is focused on delivering evidence-based solutions so that all Canberrans can benefit from long term sustainable changes gained through reduced emissions and improved climate and environmental policies.

Geoffrey has fifteen years executive experience in the ACT Government and holds qualifications in psychology, politics, public sector management, a Master’s degree in policy Analysis, and an Executive Masters in Public Administration.

Sally Druhan (Public Employee Member)

Ms Druhan is the Chief Finance Officer for the Chief Minister, Treasury and Economic Development Directorate.  Prior to commencing in this role in January 2023, she held several senior roles leading areas responsible for finance, service delivery, risk management and policy implementation in a career spanning 18 years in the Department of Defence and the Australian Taxation Office. Ms Druhan is a fellow of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand, a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and serves as a volunteer director on the boards of several not-for-profit organisations.

Dave Gilbert (Public Employee Member)

Dr Gilbert is the  leads the Capital Project Delivery Branch at Canberra Health Services, and is responsible planning and delivery of major health infrastructure projects. He has significant experience in the procurement of goods and services for private and public organisations, including within defence, electricity, water and health sectors.  This includes the procurement and management of large equipment and construction contracts for the Australian Government. Dr Gilbert is also a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Ian Turnbull (Public Employee Member)

Mr Turnbull is the Chief Finance Officer at the ACT Education Directorate.  Ian is a qualified accountant holding post graduate qualifications in management, audit, finance and investment supported by broad public and private sector experience in procurement and sourcing arrangements in education, health, disability and public safety sectors.

Mathew Baldwin (Non-Public Employee Member)

Mr Baldwin is a qualified lawyer with over 15 years of Australian and international experience in providing advice on legal/contracting, procurement, probity, and governance matters, primarily working for clients in government and regulated industries. Key areas of industry experience are government, information technology, facilities management, infrastructure and projects, health and pharmaceuticals.

Coretta Bessi (Non-Public Employee Member)

Ms Bessi is an experienced Procurement executive having held Chief Procurement Officer roles across ASX100 and Government Business Enterprises in finance, health, telecommunications, utilities and major manufacturing industries.  As a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, Ms Bessi now focuses on her Board, Committee and consulting roles to support private and public sector in driving commercial acumen and governance.

Katherine McDermott (Non-Public Employee Member)

Ms McDermott is the founder of See Me Please, a digital marketplace that connects diverse edge-case users with organisations to make their digital services more accessible for people with disabilities. Katherine holds a Bachelor of Business and is a graduate member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD). Previously, Katherine led the digital design, software engineering and product portfolio for Service NSW for 6 years. Over this time, she scaled the NSW’s government software development capability, delivered NSW’s Digital Driver License and transformed the Service NSW App to meet demand during the peak of COVID. Katherine sits on numerous other boards as a non-executive director, including the Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia, The University of Sydney’s Computer Science Industry Advisory Board, and the Society of Hospital Pharmacists Board.

Sommer Roles (Non-Public Employee Member)

Ms Roles has been in the Procurement industry across multiple industries for over 20 years.  She has experience in strategic sourcing, supplier relationship management, governance & analytics. In more recent years she has taken on operational responsibility for functions such as Property, facilities, PMO, transformation and several other shared services. She has helped businesses and clients drive transformation across their organisations and build sustainable delivery functions with a strong focus on customer service.

The Board’s role and its advice are independent from the advisory services provided to Territory entities by Procurement ACT and Major Projects Canberra. Territory entity delegates are responsible and accountable for considering and implementing any advice provided by the Board for specific procurement proposals.

Procurement ACT as the custodian of the Government Procurement Act 2001 (Act) and as a service provider to Territory entities has the following interactions with the Board:

  • Secretariat: Procurement ACT provides the services of a senior officer to fulfil secretariat functions and coordinate the Board’s biannual and annual reports, facilitate the administrative processes for Board recruitment and appointment including the necessary Cabinet and Committee clearances. For more information contact: governmentprocurementboard@act.gov.au.
  • Board Observer: A Senior Executive of Procurement ACT attends Board meetings as an observer and to provide technical advice on the Procurement Framework to Board members if requested. The Observer also identifies themes and issues raised by the Board to inform and improve future procurement practices and guidance for Territory entities.
  • Goods and Services Procurement Officer: The Goods and Services Procurement Branch within Procurement ACT provides procurement advisory services to Territory entities undertaking goods and services procurements over $200,000 to ensure they adhere to the Procurement Framework as well as guidance on best practice procurement approaches.

The below diagram outlines the relationship between relevant parties that interact with the Board.

Roles and relationships in the Government Procurement Board process