Victorian govt launches public consultation for draft ICT strategy

The Victorian government wants input from the public to further develop a draft ICT strategy (PDF) being put together by the Victorian Information and Communications Advisory Committee (VICTAC).

VICTAC was established in June to oversee the Victorian government ICT strategy. It had previously sought feedback from external advisers and industry stakeholders to develop the current draft strategy.

This public consultation will contribute to the final version of the Victoria ICT strategy.

"Online services and new technologies continue to transform the way we shop, bank, and live," Victoria Minister for Technology Gordon Rich-Phillips said in a statement. "Government must take advantage of these capabilities to remain in touch with the industry, to connect with our communities, and to drive down the cost of government services."

With a strong local ICT industry, Victoria is well positioned to reassess how it delivers services with new technologies, according to VICTAC chairman Grantly Mailes.

The final strategy will dictate how the state government will manage its ICT purchases to control costs. The draft document also details how the government will use IT to improve the delivery of government services.

The objective is to use ICT to provide better services to citizens and at a lower cost. ICT decisions by the government will be guided by a set of principles, including sharing data with citizens and across government departments to support integrated service delivery, engaging in shorter ICT contracts with open standards to increase competition, and drive down costs from providers, as well as trialling new technologies.

The strategy is set to be launched by the end of the year, and will be implemented through to December 2014.

Submissions for the public consultation close on 17 October.