IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

Twenty years after the internet started to revolutionise business, the man on a +$4 million public sector salary has spelled out the grim future for hand delivered envelopes to the Australia Israel Chamber of Commerce as the once flush monopoly attempts to revive its fortunes.

There were some genuine issues raised by coalition MPs, thereby calling for some time so that the requisite changes can be made. It is believed that the proposed governance structures would not be able to deliver the required transparency and accountability, thereby raising questions whether the PCHER roll out would be able to achieve the success or not.

According to Defence CIO Greg Farr, the proposal is likely to be endorsed by Defence brass in the coming month.

It aims to consolidate some $5 billion a year of ICT, finance, human resources and other functions, in line with plans announced in May 2009 by then Defence Minister, Joel Fitzgibbon (pdf).

The 2013 Defence white paper (pdf), launched today by Prime Minister Julia Gillard, outlines investments in networks, data capture, intrusion detection and prevention and innovation, alongside continuing investment in ICT shared services.

Defence said cybersecurity "continues to be a serious and pressing national security challenge" during both war and peace time.

The Australian Defence Force has announced plans to develop a web-based electronic health record system to link its staff's health data from recruitment to discharge.

Defence Minister Warren Snowdon today pledged $55.7 million over four years to the so-called Joint e-health Data and Information System (JeHDI), which was expected to launch by 2014.

Recently installed chief information officer Peter Lawrence says the wide-ranging ICT reform program will provide the modern platform necessary for Defence to launch into "big data". The reform, which began in 2009, is expected to be completed by 2030. It is aimed at saving $1.9 billion in several areas including hardware, software and data centres.

“Where we are on the big data journey is probably a little bit in the early stages,” Dr Lawrence told IT Pro.

Government technology experts say the department has cut hundreds of public servants from its IT operations in the past three years without showing the promised savings.

The decision to delay open tenders for $500 million worth of contracts, which was announced by the department this week, will see outsourcing giant Unysis "delighted" to earn an extra $50 million as it retains some of the work for another two years.

The Department of Health and Ageing this week agreed to remove contentious contract conditions that would have made doctors liable if one of their employees leaked information contained in a patient's electronic health record.

The digital industry is worth over $100 billion to Australia’s economy and ICT expertise is in high demand in the job market, but a paper submitted by the Australian Computer Society (ACS) states that enrolment in undergrad ICT (information and communication technology) degrees and vocational training programs are both down.

The paper, titled ACARA Draft Shape of the Australian Curriculum: Technologies, found that over the past decade, ICT uni degrees had seen a 50 per cent drop in enrolment and vocational programs had experienced a 40 per cent decline.

The project was initially funded in the 2010 Federal Budget to the tune of $466.7 million after years of health industry and technology experts calling for development and national leadership in e-health and health identifier technology to better tie together patients’ records and achieve clinical outcomes. The project is overseen by the Department of Health in coalition with the National E-Health Transition Authority (NEHTA).

Demand for workers with digital skills is soaring, with DevOps professionals leading the way, as COVID-19 has fast-tracked the digitisation of the workforce and exacerbated a skills gap in Australia.

That’s according to research from recruitment agency Robert Half, conducted in partnership with labour market analytics firm Burning Glass Technologies.

The Australian Workforce and Productivity Agency released its ICT workforce study 2013 on Tuesday, revealing a determined effort would be needed to develop the IT skills needed to fill the gaps.

It found the nation's total ICT workforce would grow 7.1% between now and 2016-17, but the expansion was "threatened by a projected shortage of skilled people".

The key lesson from the Queensland, WA and South Australian shared services miss-adventures is that it is foolish to underestimate the depth and resilience of agency autonomy. Agencies have strong incentives and drivers, supported by culture and on-the-ground operational realities, to make decisions based on local imperatives. Whole-of-government incentives and drivers, on the other hand are weak. When push comes to shove, agency autonomy always wins because it is agency heads that carry accountability for operational service failures.

Because of this widespread role in the community, the oral health profession has much to gain from forthcoming ehealth developments, argues Dr Neil Hewson, who sits on the Australian Dental Association's special purpose committee on ehealth.

"The ADA has a good understanding of ehealth," said Dr Hewson. "While there's a huge focus on the PCEHR, that's just [one] part of it. Secure messaging is also very important to us, along with e-prescriptions and e-referrals."

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) has flagged facial recognition as an ongoing area of development in its increased use of biometric technology.

The department is planning to launch a biometrics panel to source specialised biometric support — especially for facial recognition systems — for the Australian Passport Office (APO) and to help it develop its own in-house biometrics skills.

The Department of Health and Ageing (DoHA) has unveiled the second wave of e-health implementation sites to deploy and trial specific aspects of the Gillard Government’s $466.7 million personally controlled electronic health records (PCEHR) initiative.

Minister for Health and Ageing, Nicola Roxon, said the announced e-health implementation sites, to join the initial three sites in Brisbane, the Hunter Valley and Melbourne East, was the next step in the Federal Government’s health reform project.

The RACP is one of 28 organisations funded under DoHA's Telehealth Support program, which aims to encourage the use of telehealth to improve access to specialist medical care, especially for people living in rural and regional areas.

The Department of Social Services has been showcasing the current mock-up of My Aged Care in roadshows across the country and is seeking feedback from industry stakeholders as it moves to finalise design. Australian Ageing Agenda attended the Sydney session on Wednesday.

The Department of Human Services' 30-year-old IT system used for welfare payments is to be replaced.

The new platform is expected to maximise the benefits of e-government, reduce the costs of administering the system for taxpayers and help crack down on welfare cheats.

The project, one of the world's largest transformations of a social welfare IT system, will take several years to complete.

Accenture's local health and public service head, Cable says he's not fazed by the complexity and tight deadline for delivery of the national system.

"If we hadn't had experience doing e-health records elsewhere it would be quite daunting," he said.