New Vic Govt strategy to end IT disasters

The Victorian Government has started work on a whole-of-government IT strategy, in an attempt to avoid wasting taxpayers' money on over-budget projects that have missed deadlines.

"The previous Labor government adopted a piecemeal approach to ICT that saw at least $1.44 billion of taxpayers' money wasted in cost blowouts on projects like HealthSMART, Myki and the LEAP database," Victorian Minister for Technology Gordon Rich-Phillips said.

"The whole-of-government ICT strategy we are developing will help to align processes across departments, and set the clear lines of governance, accountability and direction that were clearly absent under Labor."

The government has established a Victorian Information and Communications Technology Advisory Committee to provide advice on the strategy, which includes representatives from industry and government, and is chaired by the former South Australian chief information officer Grantly Mailes.

"The committee will provide a practical, forward-looking approach to the development and use of ICT by government," he said.

The government has also established guidelines around risk and value that would mean extra scrutiny on IT projects, according to Rich-Phillips, who pointed to the work that the government is doing in IT procurement.

Last week, the government announced that it plans to abandon the eServices panel for the sourcing of IT services in favour of a register.

The register would be open to all companies that can demonstrate financial viability, insurance cover and capability, and are willing to agree to the government's terms and conditions. There would be no limit to the number of suppliers on the register, and companies could be added and removed at any time.