Tender writing questions

Answers about TenderLodge tender writing: who writes the response, who lodges it, when the success fee is due, panel tenders and the Tender-Ready Pack.

These answers describe the work TenderLodge does today. We find government tenders, check the fit, and write the response and the lodge pack. Your firm approves the commitments and the price, and your firm lodges the response on the buyer's portal. TenderLodge does not lodge it.

The fee figures below are the published success-fee bands. They match the one-page opt-in terms. They are ex GST. They are not a quote for a particular tender until you have opted in and the terms of that tender apply, including the panel rule where the tender is a panel.

There are no client counts, win rates or named referees on this page. TenderLodge launched in 2026. Stories will be published when there are real ones, and not before.

Who actually writes the tender?

Written and checked by the TenderLodge team.

The TenderLodge team reads the request, the addenda and the evaluation criteria, and prepares the response from your firm's own evidence, using AI drafting tools where they help. A person on the team checks every line before you see it. We do not invent projects, staff or qualifications to fill a gap.

You see the draft before it is finished. If a fact is missing, we ask you for it. If you cannot supply it, that part of the response stays out.

Do you submit it for us?

You remain the bidder. Your team approves the response and lodges it through the relevant government portal. TenderLodge does not log into the portal or submit on your behalf.

The lodge pack sets out the files, the order and the checks. Your firm lodges them on the buyer's portal under its own account, before the closing time. TenderLodge never asks for your portal password and never lodges the response.

When is the success fee due?

Only when you have opted in, accepted the terms before lodgement and a person has confirmed the award. A possible contract-notice match does not confirm a win or charge a card.

No award, no fee. A shortlist, a clarification question or a notice that looks like your firm is not a confirmed award. The fee follows the one-page opt-in terms, and the amount follows the awarded value.

Why not just use an AI tool?

A draft still needs your evidence, a careful reading of the criteria, revisions and a complete lodgement checklist. We do the writing.

An AI draft is a starting point. Your firm still has to find the tender, read every document, work out what the buyer is scoring, track every addendum, and rewrite that draft in your own voice before you lodge.

TenderLodge finds the tender, fetches the documents and watches for changes. We do the writing. You review the pack, and you lodge it yourself.

Can I look around before I start?

Yes. The sample workspace lets you explore matching, writing, approval and lodge packs using fictional company data. It is a demonstration, with no live government feed or live email delivery.

The sample is not a client and not a result. When you are ready to talk about a real tender, send the notice through the enquiry page and we will check the fit before any writing starts.

How much does tender writing cost?

There's no fee unless you win. The success fee follows the awarded value: up to $100,000 — $250; over $100,000 to $200,000 — $450; over $200,000 to $300,000 — $1,000; over $300,000 — 3% of the awarded value, capped at $100,000. All amounts are ex GST. The optional Tender-Ready Pack is a fixed fee quoted upfront.

These are the same bands as the one-page opt-in terms and the fees page. A possible award is not a win, and it does not raise an invoice. For a panel, the fee is charged when your firm is appointed, and appointment does not guarantee work or income.

The Tender-Ready Pack is separate. It is optional, it is quoted before work starts, and you do not need it to be considered for a tender or to opt in.

Do you write council tenders as well as federal and state tenders?

Yes. TenderLodge works on federal tenders on AusTender, state government tenders and council tenders. You lodge each one on the buyer's portal under your own account.

Council requests are often shorter than a Commonwealth request for tender, and they still have hard gates, returnable schedules and a closing time. We write to that council's questions. We do not reuse a federal response and hope the council will treat it as an answer.

The same rule applies on every buyer: you stay the bidder. TenderLodge prepares the response and the lodge pack. Your firm lodges it.

Which states do you cover?

All of Australia. TenderLodge is based in Greenvale VIC and works by email.

We write for firms bidding to Commonwealth buyers, to state and territory governments, and to councils. The work is done from Greenvale VIC. We do not keep offices in other cities, and we do not describe a locality we do not work from.

Distance is not a bar to the writing. Your firm still needs to meet the buyer's own conditions, including any local-content or licence rule the request actually states.

Is bid writing the same as tender writing?

In Australia the two terms are mostly used for the same work: writing a response to a buyer's request (RFT, RFQ, RFP or EOI). TenderLodge does both.

A buyer may call the document a request for tender, a request for quote, a request for proposal, an expression of interest or a panel application. Firms often call the response a bid. The job is the same: answer what was asked, with evidence, and lodge a complete return on time.

If you are comparing bid writing services and tender writing services, read both pages. The fee rule does not change with the word.

What happens if we don't win?

You pay no success fee for that tender.

If the buyer awards the work to someone else, or cancels the tender, there is no success fee for that response. You still did the work of reviewing and lodging, and we still did the writing. The no-win, no-fee rule is the point of the success fee.

A loss is not a reason to invent a better record for the next tender. The next response is written from the evidence your firm actually has.