Provision of seed germination testing services for the Australian Grains Genebank (AGG)

The Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA) is the Victorian Government’s lead agency for supporting thriving, productive and sustainable communities, environments and industries. The role of DEECA is to work together to create a liveable, inclusive and sustainable Victoria with thriving natural environments - where the community is at the centre of everything we do.

Scope:

The Service Provider must have the ability and capacity to:

a) Undertake seed germination testing of 8,000 -10,000 seed lots per year (1 lot = 50 seeds) of cultivated species, from a range of crop types including (but not limited to) wheat, barley, lentil, oat and chickpea.

b) Prepare and provide reports using the template provided by AGG (Attachment 1) or equivalent, detailing the testing method, start and completion date, percentage of normal and abnormal seedlings, hard/fresh ungerminated seeds, and dead seeds. Reports are to be provided within 15 business days of test completion.

c) Undertake all testing and reporting in accordance with standardised methods as per the ISTA International Rules for Seed Testing 2025.

Note: While the ISTA germination test is based on 400 seeds (or reduced sample sizes in certain circumstances), our proposed seeds lots consist of 50 seeds only. We require these seed lots to be tested using ISTA germination protocols as indicative germination results and will accept a disclaimer upon provision of results to the effect of “only 50 seeds were provided therefore not tested to ISTA methodology”.

d) Issue invoices for tested seed lots in a timely manner, within 1 month of completion and report provision.

The Department is seeking responses to this Request for Tender (RFT) T2025-0656 for the provision of seed germination testing services for the Australian Grains Genebank (AGG).

End of period for questions or requests for information (clause 4.2): 23/10/2025