Australia's blood supply contracts
The National Blood Authority (NBA) negotiates and manages contracts for Australia's supply of blood and blood products and services.
Procurement process
Our procurements are undertaken in accordance with the Commonwealth Procurement Rules(Opens in a new tab/window) and best practice guidance.
Our tender processes are robust and thorough. Before we release tenders, we research and review things such as:
- current arrangements
- global markets
- sector needs
- supply chain intelligence.
This research helps us better address issues such as:
- availability and need for products
- opportunities for improvements
- preferred contract lengths
- price considerations
- product competition
- sector satisfaction levels.
Ensuring our supply
Our work ensures Australia has an adequate, secure, affordable and safe blood supply.
Adequate and secure
Buying from many suppliers and including imported products helps to ensure our supply is adequate and secure.
We also plan for:
- the holding of inventory reserves in Australia
- supply and contract risk protections.
Affordable
We ensure contract affordability through:
- competitive tendering where possible
- informed negotiation
- price benchmarking.
Safe
Therapeutic Goods Administration(Opens in a new tab/window) regulations ensure the safety of our blood supply.
More information
Learn more about our procurement process.
Contract types
Our commercial supply contracts cover 4 main product types.
Fresh blood product supply and Lifeblood
Australian Red Cross Lifeblood (Lifeblood) is the only supplier of fresh blood products in Australia. We have a Deed of Agreement with the Australian Red Cross Society to secure fresh blood supplies from Lifeblood.
Plasma and recombinant product supply
We have supply contracts for plasma-derived and recombinant blood products, including domestic and imported supplies.
Imported product supply
We have supply contracts for imported blood products to meet ongoing demands.
Red cell diagnostic product supply
We have supply contracts to provide red cell diagnostic products to public laboratories.
Customer feedback
Reporting an adverse event
To report an adverse event, contact the relevant product supplier.
If you're reporting a serious adverse event, you should also contact the Therapeutic Goods Administration.
A serious adverse event includes:
- death
- life-threatening illness or injury
- permanent impairment of a bodily function
- permanent damage to a body structure.
It also includes any condition that needs medical intervention to prevent permanent impairment or damage.
For more information, go to transfusion-related adverse events.
Feedback on our commercial supply contracts
We expect our blood suppliers to provide excellent service and meet strict performance standards.
If you have concerns about the service you've received, you should first contact the supplier.
Contact the product supplier
All blood product suppliers must have an accessible way for you to provide feedback or raise concerns.
You should contact the product supplier if:
- you can't place an order and have it acknowledged 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
- you don't receive your order by the requested time (or within 48 hours for routine and 24 hours for urgent orders if you didn't request a time)
- your product gets delivered to the wrong person or address
- you don't get the quantity or presentation size you ordered
- your product has passed its expiry date when delivered
- it's difficult to return your product or get a replacement for a faulty or expired product
- you don't get adequate product support, information or advice.
Our suppliers must respond to your feedback.
We get regular reports from suppliers to let us know about the feedback they've received and the actions they've taken to improve.
Contact the NBA
We welcome direct feedback on any of our blood suppliers.
Last updated: 27 Mar 2024