Part 3: Award of public contracts and procedures Chapter 5: After award, standstill periods and notices Section 51: Standstill periods on the award of contracts
The standstill period is a short pause between notification to bidders of the contract award decision and the contract signature. Subsection (1) states a public contract must not be entered into (signed) before the end of the mandatory standstill period defined in subsection (2). Contracting authorities may specify a longer standstill period in the contract award notice - if they do so, that longer standstill period must be complied with.
	Subsection (2) defines the mandatory standstill period as 8 working days which begins on the day the contract award notice is published. This period follows the announcement of the decision to award the contract to a particular supplier (via the contract award notice, section 50). This allows unsuccessful suppliers a reasonable amount of time to consider the evaluation feedback and commence a claim under Part 9 if there are grounds to do so (allowing a claim to be filed prior to the contract being entered into).
	Subsection (3) explains that certain types of contract do not require a mandatory standstill period. These are: direct award on the grounds of extreme and unavoidable urgency and to protect life etc under sections 41 and 42, contracts awarded under a framework or dynamic market and light touch contracts. Additionally, any direct award by a private utility is also excluded from mandatory standstill. This means these types of contracts can be entered into immediately following the contract award notice.
	Subsection (4) permits contracting authorities awarding the type of contracts listed in subsection (3) to voluntarily specify a standstill period in a contract award notice and states that if such a standstill is provided for, it must be complied with.
	Subsection (5) clarifies that a voluntary standstill period under subsection (4) must be for no less than 8 working days from the day the contract award notice is published (the same period of time as the mandatory standstill period).