No CIO replacement for the Australian government

The federal government has announced it will not be replacing the role of the Australian Government chief information officer following the recent departure of Glenn Archer from the position.
Chris Dale, assistant secretary of the government network services branch from the Department of Finance, said at CeBIT 2014 in Sydney that Archer's former responsibilities will be undertaken by Rosemary Deininger as the first assistant secretary of the newly created Efficiency, Assurance and Digital Government Cluster division.

This announcement comes despite the report from the Commission of Audit last week recommending that there needs to be a "digital champion" in the government.

Deininger will now oversee whole of government ICT policy and investment, and will chair ICT governance bodies such as the Australian Government’s Chief Information Officer Committee, Dale added.

Dale also reaffirmed that John Sheridan will remain as the Australian Government chief technology officer who is in charge of the Technology and Procrurment Division, which continues to provide whole of government ICT services and infrastructure. He also retains the role of Australian Government Procurement Coordinator responsible for all whole of government procurement advice, services, and the Commonwealth Procurement Rules.

"Regarding the new Pre-election commitment, Finance are planning a series of information sessions and both Finance and Communications have already been reaching out to various government agencies and departments to gather new data, to collaborate on implementation and to ensure the best possible outcomes," Dale said.

Former Australian government CIO Glenn Archer will join Gartner this month where he will provide advice to governments globally on how they can better leverage technology solutions available to them.