The Public Accounts Committee has released its report on the procurement and management of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in the NSW public sector.
The Committee's Chair, Mr Jonathan O'Dea MP said “The aim is to make it easier, simpler and more cost effective to do business with and for government on behalf of the public.”
The inquiry was prompted by ongoing concerns raised by the Auditor-General regarding ICT project and contract management. It makes 41 recommendations designed to improve the procurement and management of ICT in the public sector.
“ICT has become embedded in our daily lives and is now central to many of the decisions we make both at home and work. The NSW Government should keep pace with this constantly changing world and provide effective services to the community”, said Mr O’Dea.
The recommendations relate to areas such as:
· project and contract management
· project governance
· ICT procurement
· improvements in reporting and transparency of major ICT projects
· implementing a revised capability framework that includes ICT skills
· improvements in the skills and knowledge of project sponsors
· information and cyber security
· implementing recommendations made by the Auditor-General and ICAC.
“The implementation of the NSW ICT Strategy and the current procurement reforms have resulted in improvements, however there remain concerns about ICT project expenditure and the effective use of public money”, said Mr O’Dea
“Two key observations of the Inquiry are the need to improve the oversight of ICT projects by central agencies and the need to develop a new investment framework to fund new cloud based ‘as-a-service’ projects”, Mr O'Dea concluded.
Further information can be obtained by visiting the Committee website at http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/publicaccounts
