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IT budget runs over at Victoria Police

The IT arm of Victoria Police appears to have blown its budget by millions, according to reports detailing a review completed by an external consultant.
Written by Suzanne Tindal, Contributor

The IT arm of Victoria Police appears to have blown its budget by millions, according to reports detailing a review completed by an external consultant.

Some of the conclusions reached do not appear to be consistent with internal budget projections and costings

Victoria Police spokesperson

The consultant, SAHA, believed that the police's Business Information Technology Service (BITS) was missing $89 million needed for a major contract due to cost overruns, according to documents received by The Australian.

SAHA had found discrepancies between recorded costs and the totals for invoices received from suppliers, The Australian reported, with BITS staff ignoring government and departmental purchasing guides.

The organisation acknowledged the report's existence, telling ZDNet.com.au that it included "broad assumptions" in reaching its conclusion that Victoria Police would be overspent on its IT budget.

"We are now in the process of reviewing the findings in the report as some of the conclusions reached do not appear to be consistent with internal budget projections and costings," a Victoria Police spokesperson said.

The news comes after Victorian Police CIO Valda Berzins left last October amid news her department was undergoing an investigation.

A spokesperson for the police said that the position had not been filled and it was not intended that it would be in the "immediate future". Instead, a board of management had been put in place.

"An internal audit has been completed which has identified a range of matters around process. The BITS board of management is working to rectify these issues," the spokesperson said.

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