New Qld IT contracting model emerges

The Queensland Government Chief Procurement Office reached a preliminary agreement this week with the state's IT contracting industry on a new model to achieve the government's saving aims, according to the Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA).

The government and industry concluded in negotiations this week that they were happy with the model which the discussions had created, but it has yet to be fully signed off on. The new model still needs to get the formal tick from internal committees for the Information Technology Contract and Recruitment Association and the AIIA after which it will be sent to the state government CIO and Department of Public Works director general Mal Grierson.

The government said earlier this year that it wanted to change the way it procured contractors to reduce its external workforce bills by 5 to 10 per cent. The model on which both sides have now agreed to in principle is said to be a far cry from the master-vendor model that the Queensland Government first wanted to adopt, but is not in lockstep with the industry's suggestions either.

An implementation schedule will be laid out after the high-level model has been signed off.

The AIIA was happy that there had been agreement for a joint industry government advisory group to oversee the establishment and implementation of the model, which it indicated was almost certain to go through as it currently stands.

The Queensland Government Chief Procurement Office would not comment on the discussions, but said that a resolution was expected in a very short time.