Canberra's IT chief spruiks success stories
The Australian government's new chief information officer says government IT projects are "not well understood" by the wider community and their implementers deserve recognition.
Notwithstanding several documented IT stuff-ups in state and government agencies over the past decade, including Victoria's CenITex and Queensland's payroll debacle, Australia's recently installed CIO, Glenn Archer, said "IT departments or sections within departments" were the quiet achievers in delivering services in a sector that spends over $6 billion a year in technology.
"There is a great deal of interest in those IT projects that don't go quite according to plan but those that quietly function and deliver major business benefit often never get much mention," Mr Archer said, while acknowledging there were problem projects.
He maintained that the bulk of projects were "in fact delivering exactly to expectations and achieve the outcome that both the government and stakeholders - being businesses, citizens, community organisations, schools - expect".
Mr Archer cites the national Telepresence system that has 37 operational video conferencing sites across the country for the public service and ministers to use as one successful example. "There have, to date, been nearly 2500 meetings held through that system," he said.
"The calculated cost of holding those meetings including airfare and travel costs, had they occurred in person, would have been around $44 million.
"There has also been over 8500 tonnes of CO2 avoided that would have been attributable to holding those meetings."
Another win was the Australian Bureau of Statistics eCensus in 2011, in which more than 2.7 million households, or one in three, submitted their information online, up from 10 per cent previously, he said.
"That is a radical change and that represents not just an
easier way for citizens to comply with their obligations to do a census return but also an incredible outcome for the ABS
in terms of reduced cost in capturing that data and in greater reliability and accuracy of the data," Mr Archer said.
Other success stories included the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations website refresh, the Department of Defence's migration of its data centre from Canberra to Sydney and the Centrelink Refresh project started in 2004.
"It is easy for us to forget how quickly things change but in mid-2002 Centerlink effectively had no online authenticated systems, none at all.
"So here we are 10 years later and there are hundreds available through DHS's website. The key reason for raising that is the work or investment by government then and a pretty well-executed project has actually created the foundation for the integration of the Department of Human Services that exists today."
The Australian Government ICT Awards Program is analysing 2013 entries [http://agimo.gov.au/collaboration-services-skills/australian-government-ict-awards-program/]. Introduced in 2006, it is one of few celebrations of IT successes in government.
Previous winners include the Bureau of Meteorology for its Next Generation Forecast and Warning System and the National Library of Australia's Trove website.
Frequently Asked Questions about this Article…
Glenn Archer, the Australian government's chief information officer, said many government IT projects are “quiet achievers” that quietly deliver big business benefits. While he acknowledged some high-profile failures, he maintained that the bulk of projects deliver expected outcomes for governments and stakeholders, and he urged recognition for the people who make them work. The government sector spends over $6 billion a year on technology, so these projects matter.
The article highlights several successful projects cited by Glenn Archer: the national Telepresence video‑conferencing system, the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ 2011 eCensus, a website refresh for the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations, the Department of Defence’s data centre migration from Canberra to Sydney, and the Centrelink Refresh program that began in 2004.
According to the article, the national Telepresence system has 37 operational video‑conferencing sites and supported nearly 2,500 meetings. The calculated cost savings from avoided airfare and travel were around $44 million, and the system avoided more than 8,500 tonnes of CO2 that would have resulted from in‑person meetings.
The ABS eCensus in 2011 saw more than 2.7 million households—about one in three—submit their census information online, up from about 10% previously. That shift matters because it made it easier for citizens to comply, reduced the cost of capturing data, and improved the reliability and accuracy of the census for the ABS and the public that relies on its statistics.
The article notes that in mid‑2002 Centrelink effectively had no online authenticated systems. The Centrelink Refresh project, started in 2004, along with subsequent investments, led to hundreds of online services being available through the Department of Human Services website about ten years later—creating the foundation for better integration and digital service delivery.
The article acknowledges documented government IT failures (for example, Victoria’s CenITex issues and a Queensland payroll debacle) but also presents the CIO’s view that many projects work well. For everyday investors, that means balancing awareness of headline failures with recognition that many large government IT projects deliver measurable savings and service improvements.
The Australian Government ICT Awards program, introduced in 2006 and analyzing 2013 entries at the time of the article, is one of the few initiatives that celebrates successful government IT work. Past winners include the Bureau of Meteorology’s Next Generation Forecast and Warning System and the National Library of Australia’s Trove site—useful signals of high‑quality government IT delivery and capability.
Successful government IT projects can lower costs (for example, the Telepresence system’s ~$44 million travel savings), improve service delivery to businesses, citizens, community organisations and schools, increase data accuracy (as with the ABS eCensus), and reduce environmental impact (the Telepresence rollout avoided over 8,500 tonnes of CO2). Those outcomes matter to taxpayers and stakeholders who rely on efficient government services.
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