When to use General Contract Conditions

When buying general goods and services, there a few different contract templates you could use.

This guide will help you decide whether the General Contract Conditions (PDF, 207KB) are suitable for what you want to do.

Use for contracts:

where the goods/services purchased are not high-risk (or if classified as high-risk, where special conditions can reduce those risks)
for most professional services
where the supplier has access to confidential, sensitive or personal information
where transition risks are acceptable (e.g. where no transition out clauses are required, or those clauses can be easily accommodated via special conditions)
where the customer is willing to negotiate a liability cap with the supplier
where the customer needs to keep the intellectual property rights; with a broad licence back to the Supplier is acceptable (or an alternative position can be adopted by amending or substituting a new clause).

where the General Contract Conditions (including any special conditions) do not adequately mitigate risks. This might include contracts that are high value and high risk (e.g. critical to the customer's operations)
where financial security or performance guarantees are required
for goods/services that require more complex or non-standard arrangements
for goods/services that have a complex or uncertain specification, are customised, or are untested
for goods/services where significant workplace health and safety risks or public safety risks arise that cannot be adequately dealt with via special conditions
for any building or construction works
for any interest in land or property.

The Comprehensive Contract Conditions may be suitable if the General Contract Conditions are not.

There is no maximum contract value for this contract. You must assess any risks to determine if this contract provides enough protection for the customer.
Special conditions can be added to these contract conditions. If this contract is for the most part a good fit, but some changes are required (e.g. clauses to deal with agency-specific issues, risks unique to the goods/services, or ICT clauses), then use this contract and add special conditions as needed. Record all changes in the contract details document.
You can no longer use this contract to buy ICT. Read more about how to create an ICT contract.