Ex-Government Auctions in Australia

Local, state, and federal governments are a big consumer within the Australian economy and regularly need to update and replace all the items and equipment that make all their operations tick. They often use auctions to dispose of vehicles, surplus/obsolete equipment, land and buildings, office equipment, local council machinery, and much more.

Where to find Gov Auctions?

The largest auctioneers of ex-government vehicles are Pickles and Manheim who hold regular weekly sales in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, and occasionally Adelaide, Hobart, and Canberra. They also auction off equipment and machinery on behalf of government departments, state gov, and local councils.

Most Defence departments and army surplus items are handled through Pickles auctions.

GraysOnline also holds monthly sales of ex-local council machinery and equipment. They occasionally hold clearance auctions for equipment after the completion of civil projects.

Many of the auctioneers listed in our Auctioneer directory hold sales on behalf of government agencies and departments and when we come across government sales, we add them to our Ex-Government, Military & Defense category

Latest ex-gov auction notice updates

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What can you find for sale?

Items may come from various departments such as defence, for example, army surplus, or it may be office equipment from any of a large number of government agencies and departments.

Items and equipment are generally well maintained under strict maintenance schedules, although, care should still be taken as they may not receive the loving care that a private owner would give. Sales are generally conducted by a third party and can be on-site at a government branch or the auction centre.

Usually, the most common sales come from the regular updating of cars, vehicles, machinery, computers, and IT equipment. There are also department closures, equipment sold off after project completion, and there are often gov surplus auctions where you can find lots of new and unused items being cleared. Police departments and Customs agencies often auction off seized, stolen, and unclaimed goods. See here for police auctions.

Tips for Buying

As for vehicles, check out our tips for buying at car auctions. For items generally, they are almost always sold as is, meaning that if it does not work as you expected, or another problem arises, you cannot return the item.

If there is a preview for the auction you plan to attend, take advantage of it. In some cases, the items will not be available for review during the auction, so it is advisable to attend the auction preview to look at items you are interested in.

**Originally published Apr 21, 2010 and updated March 2024