Purpose of the Register
The Short-Term Adviser Register (the Register) is maintained by Cowater International Inc. for the Shared Services Platform, to identify suitably qualified advisers who may be engaged for short-term technical assignments under the Timor-Leste Australia Partnerships for Health, Education and Disability Rights.
The Register is a sourcing tool. It is not a procurement method, panel or standing offer. Inclusion on the Register creates no contract and is not a guarantee of work.
Assessment for inclusion
Applications are assessed once, against each discipline the applicant selects, using six published selection criteria. Applicants who achieve an overall score of at least 70%, and at least 50% on each criterion, are included in the Register for that discipline. Applicants are assessed against this standard and are not ranked against each other. No applicant is favoured or disadvantaged on the basis of gender, disability, ethnicity, religion, age or other protected characteristics.
All applicants are told the outcome of their application for each discipline they selected, in writing, and may ask for feedback.
Selection for assignments
When an assignment arises, advisers on the Register in the relevant discipline and level are considered against the Terms of Reference. Selection is based on value for money, including capability, availability and fee. Some assignments may involve a short proposal, a conversation, a comparison of advisers, or an open approach to market.
To build local capability, national advisers are considered first, and are preferred where national and international advisers are similarly assessed. This preference is based on engagement basis, not nationality, and never overrides the capability an assignment requires.
Pre-contract checks and insurance
Before any contract is signed, Cowater will complete two referee checks, safeguarding screening (including a police check where required), verification of essential qualifications, a conflict-of-interest declaration, sanctions and debarment checks on the adviser and any trading entity, verification of the declarations made in the application, business registration and tax details where relevant, work authorisation for international advisers working in Timor-Leste, and other standard Cowater and DFAT screening measures. Cowater may contact people who are not nominated as referees where appropriate for due diligence.
Depending on the assignment and your engagement basis, you may be required to provide certificates of currency for professional indemnity and public liability insurance.
Engagement terms
- Advisers are engaged under Cowater’s standard short-term consultancy services agreement, with defined deliverables, maximum input days, daily fee and contract period.
- Advisers are independent service providers, not employees, and are responsible for their own tax, subject to any withholding Cowater must apply under Timor-Leste law.
- No adviser may be engaged for more than 180 input days in total across all program contracts in any rolling 12-month period.
- Advisers contracting through a company or business name must personally deliver all services. Substitution of another person is not permitted.
Fees
The maximum daily fee you propose is treated as commercial-in-confidence. If you are included on the Register, it is your fee ceiling for the life of the round and cannot be increased at selection, although a lower fee may be agreed. Fees are assessed under the program’s STA Remuneration Framework.
Safeguarding and probity declarations
By submitting an application, you declare that:
- you have not committed, nor been charged with, child exploitation or related offences;
- you will comply with DFAT’s Child Protection and PSEAH policies and Cowater’s Code of Conduct;
- you are not listed on any sanctions or debarment list, and have declared any conflict of interest; and
- you understand that engagement is conditional on satisfactory completion of criminal history, safeguarding and other probity checks, and that health, safety and travel requirements may apply to some assignments.
Collection and use of personal information
Personal information submitted to the Register is collected to identify, select and engage short-term advisers. It may be used to:
- assess suitability for inclusion on the Register and for specific assignments;
- administer contracts and payments;
- meet legal, donor and contractual compliance requirements; and
- support duty of care, safeguarding and risk management obligations.
Information may be accessed by authorised Cowater personnel, The Asia Foundation, or other contracted service providers supporting system hosting or program administration. These providers are required to maintain confidentiality and data security.
Information held
Information may include contact details, identity documentation, qualifications, work history, business registration and tax details, insurance details, fee information and information required to meet compliance or safeguarding obligations. Information about gender, Timorese status, disability, lived experience and adjustments is optional, collected with your consent, held separately and not used in assessment. Inclusion data is reported to DFAT in aggregate form only.
Use of AI in initial assessment
Cowater uses AI-assisted tools to support the initial screening of applications, including extracting structured information from your CV and scoring applications against the published selection criteria. Applications submitted on paper or by email are entered into the portal and screened in the same way.
AI is used as a decision-support tool only. All decisions about inclusion on the Register, selection for assignments and probity checks are made by qualified Cowater personnel, who review all applications that pass AI screening, all borderline cases and a sample of those that do not. No decision is made solely on the basis of automated processing. The AI tool is checked regularly against human scoring to confirm it is consistent and to identify and correct any bias, for example against applicants writing in a second language or with non-standard CVs.
Data security
Technical safeguards
Cowater applies appropriate administrative, technical and physical safeguards to protect personal information from unauthorised access, loss or misuse.
Access control
Access is limited to individuals with a legitimate role-related requirement. Fee information is restricted to procurement and approving officers.
Retention of information
Register membership lapses when the 18-month EOI round closes. Applications are then removed from the Register and you will need to reapply to the next round. Records of assessment and any engagement are kept for as long as required to meet legal and contractual obligations, and information may be de-identified for statistical or planning purposes.
Access, correction and complaints
Subject to applicable law, you may request access to or correction of your personal information. You are responsible for keeping the information you provide accurate and current, including your availability.
Complaints about the Register can be raised with Cowater regional or head-office HR or compliance team at complaints@cowatertl.com, independently of the Shared Services Platform. Complaints are acknowledged within 5 working days, with an outcome within 30 days. Cowater’s whistleblower channel [link] is also available.
Declaration
By submitting your application, you acknowledge that:
- inclusion on the Register does not guarantee engagement;
- the information you have provided is true and correct;
- false or misleading information, or a failure to declare a conflict of interest, may result in removal from the Register or termination of any contract;
- unsatisfactory performance on an assignment may lead to removal from the Register;
- you consent to the collection and use of your information for the purposes outlined above; and
- your Register membership lapses when the 18-month EOI round closes, and you will need to reapply.