IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

It is seeking data centre suppliers to meet a range of Data Centre Facility Supplies requirements, while providing scalable and flexible arrangements. The data centre ICT infrastructure must be operated by the agencies or their ICT services provider and the data centres must be located within Australia.

The Joint eHealth Data and Information System (JeHDI) is a web based system which will simplify record management and provide immediate access to patients’ medical records and other healthcare information.

The JeHDI would improve the productivity of health care personnel, provide the ability to map health related trends and patterns, derive financial reports related to the provision of healthcare to ADF personnel, and maintain the security of health data.

RADAR helps users document damage and qualify for government assistance.

Responding to a natural disaster is chaotic enough without having to catalog thousands of forms and photos of property damage by hand.

That was the premise for Igor Stjepanovic, founder and CEO of Australian software company Gruntify, in trying to simplify the process of qualifying for government aid with a new damage-assessment app called RADAR, which stands for Recording Asset Damage and Restoration.

Australian government officials have played down the prospect of confusion with both the commonwealth and some states creating different digital ID systems.

They have also responded to concern the new digital ID system will be too complex for the elderly, those with disabilities and indigenous and remote communities.

This morning we learn that Australian state Victoria plans to provide iPads to all the doctors working in Australia’s public health system.

In 1997, government officials in Australia decided to put their clout behind Centrelink, the country's version of e-government, to link citizens, deliver services and create the "Face of the Australian Government," said Jane Treadwell, chief information officer for Centrelink.

The proposed PCEHR e-health bill lays the groundwork to establish a nationally-consistent record of patient and healthcare information throughout Australia.

This initiative, when fully operational, will streamline Australia’s healthcare system – while improving electronic healthcare delivery across all levels of government and healthcare services.

The National E-Health Transition Authority (NEHTA) is a federal and state-funded body set up in July 2004. Accountable to the Australian Health Ministers' Advisory Council, it works to a yearly plan as agreed by ministers, and reports to them on its deployment. Its main aim is to spearhead an electronic health record across the country along with the supporting infrastructure.

The Department of Health and Ageing is expecting to get close to 500,000 users signed up for Personally Controlled E-Health Records (PCEHR) by the end of June, despite only having approximately half that number signed up so far.

The Australian government, in conjunction with the states, has invested over AU$1 billion in the e-health program aimed at improving patient care through making it easier for healthcare providers to access and share information about a patient throughout the medical system. The project has been slow for uptake, with the government rolling out a number of the features of the system over time as GPs and other healthcare providers implement key system upgrades in order to accommodate the new e-health record system.

E-health is a major opportunity for the ICT sector despite persistent underfunding, according to analyst, IDC.

The firm says that the healthcare industry will spend $2.26 billion on ICT in 2010, with $721 million of that going on telecommunications, $509 million on services, and a further $102 million spent on software.

Addressing a Summit on Technology in Government and the Public Sector, minister for public service Gary Gray said that while the government's offering is of a high standard, steps are being taken to improve it further by focusing on location based services.

"Government decisions are typically based on cost, time and benefit – or what, when and why,” Mr Gray is quoted by PS News as saying.

A successful eHealth trial of secure message delivery means Australian healthcare professionals will soon be able to share clinical information through online messaging.

The National E-Health Transition Authority (NEHTA) trial included five healthcare messaging vendors: Argus Connect, Global Health, Healthlink, LRS Health and Medical Objects. The vendors successfully sent and received secure messages from each other, showing the interoperability of the messaging system.

Australian Social Services Minister Scott Morrison has announced that the government has approved funding to overhaul the welfare payments system known as ISIS.

The Abbott government has approved the replacement of a 30-year-old welfare payments support system in a move that the government hopes will improve data sharing and data analytics in the agency.

The Department of Human Services has received approval from Cabinet to begin overhauling its, now unfortunately named, system known as ISIS.

There is "a window of opportunity for Australia to be the the global leader in the creation and adoption of cloud computing innovation," according to a recent report from the federal government's IT Industry Innovation Council.

Australia is rich in natural resources and one of the least densely populated countries in the world, which has allowed it citizens to build a wealthy economy and stable society without having to become a world-beating manufacturer or innovation center. Knowing that this economic model may not last forever, the Council's report says "there is a need to engender a sense of urgency and clear political leadership in this debate."

In a wide-ranging e-mail interview with ZDNet Australia, the Special Minister of State, Eric Abetz, said "the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) has adopted a policy of recommending to all political parties and the public who contemplate electoral advertising on the Internet that electoral matter conforms with the provisions of the Electoral Act.

According to recent figures on ICT expenditure large agencies have been reported to have storage inventories of 94,357 terabytes during the 2010-2011 financial year. This is a 21 per cent increase on the previous financial year, and over double of that in 2008-2009.

“Big data is an area of great interest across the Government and more generally across industry, academia and society," Australian Government CIO Glenn Archer said on launching the final plan.

"It is expected that this interest will continue to build as new analytical tools evolve, and as we move towards implementing the actions outlined in the strategy.”

The Australian Government Information Management Office (AGIMO) has opened up on its plans to push forward with its Gov 2.0 agenda.

Responding to Computerworld Australia the office said its plans to push forward with initiatives around the privacy and confidentiality implications of Gov 2.0 would see the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) develop an ‘Information Publication Scheme’ for Australian Government agencies.

In a statement, the Australian Government Information Management Office (AGIMO) CIO, Ann Steward, announced that IP principles would be altered to give government agencies more flexibility with the use of data and information.