RFQ vs RFT vs RFP: What's the difference?

If you bid into Australian Government work, you'll see three acronyms over and over: RFQ, RFT, and RFP. They look similar, they often live on the same AusTender portal, and they're routinely confused — including by the agencies that publish them.

Here's the practical difference.

RFQ — Request for Quotation

Price-led. Requirements already defined.

An RFQ is used when the agency already knows exactly what they want and just need a price. Specifications are tight, evaluation is mostly quantitative, and the lowest compliant bid usually wins.

Typical RFQ characteristics:

• Threshold value under $200,000 (the Commonwealth Procurement Rules limit)
• 1-3 week response window
• Short response document (10-30 pages)
• Limited or no presentation stage

RFT — Request for Tender

Formal. High value. Strict compliance.

An RFT is the heaviest of the three. Used for high-value contracts, usually above the $80,000 procurement threshold for non-corporate Commonwealth entities, and almost always for contracts above $1M. The process is governed by the Commonwealth Procurement Rules and is open to public scrutiny.

Typical RFT characteristics:

• 4-8 week response window
• Long response document (50-200+ pages)
• Mandatory criteria you must pass to be evaluated
• Probity advisor involved
• Tender briefings and site visits

RFP — Request for Proposal

Solution-led. Approach matters.

An RFP is used when the agency knows the problem but not the solution. They want vendors to propose how to solve it. Evaluation weights innovation, approach, and team as heavily as price — sometimes more so.

Typical RFP characteristics:

• 3-6 week response window
• Strong emphasis on methodology, team CVs, case studies
• Often includes a shortlist + presentation stage
• Price is one of several criteria, rarely the deciding one

Quick reference table

	RFQ	RFT	RFP
Decided on	Price	Compliance + price	Approach + price
Typical value	<$200k	>$80k, often >$1M	$100k–$5M
Response length	10–30 pages	50–200+ pages	30–80 pages
Window	1–3 weeks	4–8 weeks	3–6 weeks
Win condition	Lowest compliant	Highest weighted score	Best-fit solution

How to tell which one you're looking at

AusTender is inconsistent. Some agencies label everything an "RFQ" regardless of value or complexity. To know what you're actually responding to, check three things:

1. The estimated contract value — anything above ~$200k is realistically an RFT or RFP
2. The evaluation criteria weighting — if "price" is <40%, it's an RFP in everything but name
3. The response template — long-form questions = RFP; pricing schedule with minimal narrative = RFQ

Get this wrong and you'll either over-invest in a price-led bid or under-invest in a solution-led one. Both lose.

See how RFQIntern classifies your tender automatically.