Answering every tender question doesn't necessarily mean you've answered it well.

Understanding how tender evaluation criteria work is essential to developing a competitive submission. From mandatory requirements and weighted criteria to relevant experience, methodology and supporting evidence, knowing what evaluators are actually looking for can make all the difference.

Discover how to structure stronger responses, avoid common mistakes and give evaluators the information they need to award marks. Plus, download our free Tender Evaluation Criteria Decoder to help put these principles into practice.

I've spent years helping businesses prepare competitive tender submissions, but apparently I've been overlooking one of my biggest rivals - the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Yes, the actual bridge.

An automated website analysis tool recently identified this iconic Australian landmark as a competitor to TenderWise. Beyond the hilarity, it raised an interesting question: how much trust should we place in automated reports that look authoritative but completely misunderstand the businesses they're analysing?

A light-hearted look at SEO tools, artificial intelligence and why a little human judgement still goes a very long way.

The most dangerous tender question is the one you never ask.

Conflicting requirements, missing information and untested assumptions can derail even the strongest tender response. And sometimes the biggest risk isn't getting the answer wrong - it's confidently answering the wrong question.

Discover why clarification matters, how to ask better questions and when to challenge your assumptions before submitting your next tender.

AI can write a polished, convincing tender response. But what happens when it makes assumptions that are completely wrong? A rather hilarious encounter with my AI assistant revealed how inherited bias can slip into seemingly intelligent answers - and why accuracy, evidence and a healthy dose of scepticism matter when using AI for tender writing.

Not every tender is worth winning. Behind an attractive contract value could be unrealistic deadlines, vague specifications, nasty contract clauses and financial risks that turn a promising opportunity into an expensive headache. Discover 10 tender red flags you should never ignore, plus download our free checklist to help you spot the warning signs before you commit.

Looking for Australian tender opportunities without paying for another subscription? This October 2026 update rounds up the best free government tender websites across Australia, plus a few tips for finding the right opportunities before someone announces, “I found this yesterday. It closes Friday.”

Winning the tender is worth celebrating - but it’s also when everything you promised suddenly becomes a commitment. From contracts and mobilisation to people, systems, reporting and KPIs, here’s what happens after the “Congratulations, you’ve won” email arrives.

A strong tender response starts long before the RFT arrives. From project examples and current CVs to performance data, methodologies and client feedback, the evidence you’ll need is often already inside your business. The trick is capturing it before the tender deadline starts ticking.

Better tender responses often start with better questions. Learn how asking the right follow-up questions can uncover stronger evidence, clearer differentiators and the detail evaluators need to understand your business.

I'll say something that might seem strange coming from someone who makes a living writing tenders.

AI can write a pretty decent tender response.

So why would anyone still engage a professional tender writer Because producing words is only one part of developing a strong tender submission.

There’s a question I ask almost every new tender writing client.

“So… tell me the story of your business.”

Usually, we’ve already talked about the tender: what the contract involves, when the response is due, what the evaluation criteria look like and whether the opportunity is genuinely a good fit.

Many business owners assume a tender writer simply "writes the words" before submitting a bid. In reality, that's only a small part of the job.

A good tender writer is part strategist, part project manager, part editor and part compliance expert. Their role is to help you present your business in the strongest possible light while ensuring your submission meets every requirement of the request documentation. So, what does a tender writer actually do? And more importantly, is hiring one worth it? Here’s the low down.

When people ask what I do for a living, the conversation rarely gets more exciting. Most of my days involve coffee, Word documents, spreadsheets, and a lot of questions that begin with, "What exactly do they mean by this?" But every now and then, a tender document lands in my inbox that makes me stop, blink twice, and wonder whether anyone actually read it before releasing it.

After years of working with businesses across Australia to prepare tender submissions, I've had the opportunity to review hundreds of their earlier bids. Some have been successful. Some haven't.