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Appendices

  1. Terms of Reference
  2. Submission questions
  3. Survey instrument
  4. Submissions received
  5. Consultations
  6. Agencies with ICT Spend over $20 million in 2007–08
  7. Agencies with ICT Spend $2 million to $20 million in  2007–08
  8. Candidates for whole-of government approaches
  9. Proposed criteria for whole-of-government approaches and arrangements subject to opt-out
  10. Proposed role of AGIMO
  11. Linkage between Terms of Reference and Recommendations
  12. Details of ICT Review Team

A: Terms of Reference

Review of the Australian Government’s use of Information and Communication Technology

  1. The review will examine and report on the effectiveness and efficiency of the Australian Government’s current use of information and communication technology (ICT) to determine whether the Government is realising the greatest return from its investments in ICT, including the way in which ICT can be used to meet the Government’s broader objectives, as well as a narrower financial return. The review will examine whether we have the right institutional arrangements in place to maximise the return, and the means by which the return might be increased.

  2. In determining this, the review will consider the following issues:
    1. how ICT has benefited the operations of government and how that benefit is measured;
    2. the adequacy of current coordination of ICT business planning and investment decision-making processes and the options for and benefits of a stronger ICT framework and/or greater coordination if current arrangements are inadequate;
    3. the existing ICT investments of agencies and whether there are opportunities to maximise the use of new and existing ICT investments in order to meet the Government’s broader objectives;
    4. the possible duplication of ICT systems (such as financial and human resource management) across government agencies, whether opportunity exists to consolidate existing or new systems, and what form any consolidation should take;
    5. the duplication of business processes across, and within agencies, and the effects this has on the costs to government and the quality of service delivery;
    6. barriers posed by existing legacy ICT investments across agencies and the potential for more consistency in new investments;
    7. how agencies manage their staffing requirements for ICT projects, whether there are opportunities to improve the efficient use of staff and contract resources, and whether competitive pressures are driving up costs;
    8. the existing ICT governance framework that guides the Australian Government’s use of ICT to deliver government outcomes;
    9. the possible role of the Department of Finance and Deregulation, or a similar central body, in contributing to more efficient and effective use of ICT across government; and
    10. any other matters as they arise, in consultation with the Minister for Finance and Deregulation.
  3. To collect relevant information on the above issues, the review will focus on the use of ICT in selected Australian Government agencies that are a mix of large and small users of ICT.
  4. The review will provide a snapshot of the current state of ICT in the Australian Government, what exists and how it is managed to deliver Government objectives.
  5. The review will have regard to the best practice approaches of other Australian and international jurisdictions and the private sector.
  6. The review will also have regard to planned work on whole-of-government ICT procurement.
  7. The review must prepare a report for the Minister for Finance and Deregulation by September 2008.The report should set out recommendations to the Australian Government to drive greater efficiency in the use of ICT across government while enhancing or improving the capacity of ICT to support service and program delivery.
  8. In formulating recommendations that the Australian Government should take a particular course of action, the review should assess the resourcing, costs, benefits and any implementation risks of that action.

B: Submission questions        

Letter to Agencies

Independent Review of the Australian Government’s use of ICT

You will be aware that I have been asked by the Minister for Finance and Deregulation, the Hon. Lindsay Tanner MP, to undertake on behalf of the Australian Government an Independent Review of the Australian Government’s use and management of information and communication technology (ICT).

The Minister has asked me to examine and report on the efficiency and effectiveness of the Australian Government’s current use and management of ICT to determine whether the Government is realising the greatest return from its investments in ICT. This includes the ways in which ICT can be used to meet the Government’s broader objectives and the means by which the financial return to Government might be increased. 

I particularly welcome this opportunity to gain your views on the issues raised by the review’s Terms of Reference (attached) and on the opportunities to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the government’s use of ICT. I have separately requested the ICT Review Secretariat that is located in the department of Finance and Deregulation to seek more detailed data on your ICT spend, both on assets and ongoing expenditure so that I might construct a clear picture of how ICT is used currently to deliver government services.

Specifically, I would be very grateful if you could provide me with a written submission covering the following:

I am also interested in your views on the current whole-of-government arrangements that are in place to guide the Australian Government’s use and management of ICT. My understanding is that the Department of Finance and Deregulation cooperatively develops various frameworks, policies, standards and some centralised ICT procurement arrangements that seek to encourage greater sharing and re-use of ICT assets and achieve best value for money. Could you please indicate the usefulness of these, your agency’s own level of use, and any issues that impede use.

I would be most grateful if you could provide your written submission to the ICT Review Secretariat at ICTReview@finance.gov.au. If you are able to provide any of the material by the end of May, this would be much appreciated. I would appreciate final submissions by
Friday 13 June 2008, covering the questions I have raised and any other options you see to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the Government’s use of ICT including barriers to their adoption. I realise that this timetable will be tight but I do not believe these information requests should be very onerous if sound governance arrangements are already in place. This will not be the final opportunity to input to the review, but the basic information provided in submissions by this date will enable me to assemble a reasonably comprehensive picture of ICT in the Australian Government in order to inform further discussions and investigation. It is my intention to hold bilateral meetings with some agencies and other stakeholders after the initial written submissions have been received and analysed.

In the meantime, the ICT Review Secretariat can be contacted on 02 6215 2524 for any queries regarding this letter.

Yours sincerely

Sir Peter Gershon


Letter to Industry

Independent Review of the Australian Government’s use of ICT

You may be aware that I have been asked by the Minister for Finance and Deregulation, the Hon. Lindsay Tanner MP, on behalf of the Australian Government, to undertake an Independent Review of the Australian Government’s use and management of information and communication technology (ICT).

I have been asked to examine and report on the efficiency and effectiveness of the Australian Government’s current use and management of ICT to determine whether the Government is realising the greatest return from its investments in ICT. This includes the ways in which ICT can be used to meet the Government’s broader objectives and the means by which the financial return to Government might be increased.

I particularly welcome this opportunity to gain your views on the issues raised by the review’s Terms of Reference (Attachment A). Specifically, I would be very grateful if you could provide me with a written submission covering the following:

I would be most grateful if you could provide your written submission to the ICT Review Secretariat at ICTReview@finance.gov.au by Friday 30 May 2008 covering the questions I have raised and any other options you see to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the Government’s use and management of ICT including barriers to their adoption. It is my intention to hold bilateral meetings with as many industry stakeholders and representative bodies as possible after the initial written submissions have been received and analysed.

Please contact the ICT Review Secretariat on (02) 6215 2524 should you have any questions about this matter or the review.

Yours sincerely

Sir Peter Gershon


C: Survey instrument

Survey approach

The review survey was issued to all 100 Commonwealth Government Agencies that were regulated by the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997 (FMA Act). Of the identified agencies, four were exempt from providing a return as agreed with the Secretariat (including two national security agencies), five small agencies did not provide a response (these agencies were insignificant in size and did not detract from the comprehensive nature of the data captured from agencies that responded), and a further eight agencies’ returns were incorporated within another (lead) agency return.

In total, 86 returns were received covering 91 agencies and entered into the survey database. Three of the 86 returns were from agencies which are incorporated within other FMA Act agencies. One of these operates relatively autonomously and has been treated as a separate agency for the purposes of the survey analysis. The other two have recently been incorporated into another agency and the treatment of these agencies varies depending on the nature of the analysis. For example, they have been treated as one large agency for the purposes of analysing total ICT spend, but treated as three agencies when looking at the level of customisation of financial and human resource information management systems.

The completed responses were grouped via the size of the agency and provided the following size profile:

The ABS 2002–03 Government Technology Survey structure was used as a base for the survey and expanded to capture detailed information on specific areas of interest for the review. The additional areas included in the survey were websites, desktops, telecommunications, financial management information systems, human resource management information systems and grants management systems. Other specific survey areas included ICT energy and ICT staffing resources, where the survey captured information on each agency’s profile and employment metrics.

A small agency survey was provided to a limited number of agencies that had 50 or less staff in order to minimise the impact of the survey on these agencies.

Survey sections

The survey instrument was structured in eight sections represented by separate worksheets, within the survey workbook, described in more detail below:

Each section concluded with a free-form commentary box which provided agencies with an opportunity to provide explanations and, specifically, to detail additional information relating to unusual circumstances that meant answers to questions needed to be interpreted in the correct context; and major one-off variations to activity levels or costs.

Survey addendum

During the survey completion period, additional information requirements were identified that were considered important to the analysis of the survey data. As a result, a survey addendum was distributed to all respondents. The addendum required separate and discrete data to be reported in addition to the original survey instrument. The survey instrument addendum was structured in five sections reflecting extensions and additions to the original survey instrument:

Completion and treatment

The survey was released on 19 May 2008 and was to be completed and submitted to the Review Secretariat by 18 July 2008. A help desk was provided to assist all agencies with any issues associated with the survey response.

The small agency survey was distributed to selected small agencies on 27 May 2008, with the same completion date of 18 July 2008.

The survey addendum was distributed on 13 June 2008 and was to be completed and submitted by 18 July 2008.

No extensions to the completion time were provided.

Additional data collection

In addition to the data survey, a limited survey of data centres was undertaken with 16 of the largest FMA Act agencies, and the AIIA kindly undertook, at the review's request, a limited survey of its SME members.

D: Submissions received

Within Australian Government

Invited industry submissions

Invited representative bodies’ submissions

Other submissions

E: Consultations

Ministers

Departments and agencies

Meetings were held with teams led by the respective Secretaries/CEOs or their nominees with the following agencies.

In addition:

Other

Meetings were held with teams led by the respective Senior Executives or their nominees with the following representative and industry bodies.

Industry

F: Agencies with ICT Spend over $20 million in 2007–08

Based on their input to the survey, the agencies (excluding Defence) with ICT spend in excess of $20 million in 2007–08 are:

  1. Attorney-Generals' Department
  2. AUSTRAC
  3. AusTrade
  4. Australian Bureau of Statistics
  5. Australian Crime Commission
  6. Australian Customs Service
  7. Australian Federal Police
  8. Australian Securities and Investments Commission
  9. Australian Taxation Office
  10. Bureau of Meteorology
  11. Centrelink
  12. Comsuper
  13. Crimtrac
  14. Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
  15. Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations
  16. Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts
  17. Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs
  18. Department of Finance and Deregulation
  19. Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
  20. Department of Health and Ageing
  21. Department of Human Services – Child Support Agency
  22. Department of Immigration and Cultural Affairs
  23. Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government
  24. Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research
  25. Department of Parliamentary Services
  26. Department of Veterans' Affairs
  27. IP Australia
  28. Medicare Australia

 G: Agencies with ICT Spend $2 million to $20 million in 2007–08

Based on their returns to the survey, agencies with ICT spends between $2 million and $20million to achieve a 7.5% reduction based on 2007–08 ICT spend over the next 2 Budget years are:

  1. Administrative Appeals Tribunal
  2. AusAID
  3. Australian National Audit Office
  4. Australian Communications and Media Authority
  5. Australian Competition and Consumer Commission
  6. Australian Electoral Commission
  7. Australian Industrial Registry
  8. Australian Prudential Regulation Authority
  9. Australian Public Service Commission
  10. Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy
  11. Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
  12. Department of the Senate
  13. Family Court of Australia
  14. Federal Court of Australia
  15. Geoscience Australia
  16. Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority
  17. Insolvency & Trustee Service Australia
  18. Migration Review Tribunal and Refugee Review Tribunal
  19. National Archives of Australia
  20. National Health and Medical Research Council
  21. National Native Title Tribunal
  22. Office of National Assessments
  23. Office of the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions
  24. Therapeutic Goods Administration
  25. Department of the Treasury
  26. Workplace Authority

H: Candidates for whole-of government approaches

Some candidates for consideration for whole-of-government approaches, subject to opt-out, over the first 2 years of the SIGB's existence include (in alphabetical order):

The above list includes some existing AGIMO outputs which will need to be formally confirmed as whole-of-government arrangements subject to opt-out.

I: Proposed criteria for whole-of-government approaches and arrangements subject to opt-out

As a guiding principle, whole-of-government approaches and arrangements subject to opt-out should be considered if they provide clear superior outcomes for the Government and/or the taxpayer, over autonomous approaches by agencies.

One or more of the following criteria should apply:

J: Proposed role of AGIMO

Based on my recommendations, the role of AGIMO would include:

K: Linkage between Terms of Reference and Recommendations

This appendix sets out the linkage between the reviews recommendations and the review’s Terms of Reference.

  1. The review will examine and report on the effectiveness and efficiency of the Australian Government’s current use of information and communication technology (ICT) to determine whether the Government is realising the greatest return from its investments in ICT, including the way in which ICT can be used to meet the Government’s broader objectives, as well as a narrower financial return. The review will examine whether we have the right institutional arrangements in place to maximise the return, and the means by which the return might be increased.
    [Achieved – set out in Chapter 4 Key Findings, Chapter 5 Recommendations and Chapter 6 Implementation]
  2.  
    1. how ICT has benefited the operations of government and how that benefit is measured;
      [Recommendations 5.2.2, 5.2.3, 5.3.2]
    2. the adequacy of current coordination of ICT business planning and investment decision-making processes and the options for and benefits of a stronger ICT framework and/or greater coordination if current arrangements are inadequate;
      [Recommendations 5.1.1, 5.1.2, 5.1.3, 5.2.1, 5.2.2, 5.6.1]
    3. the existing ICT investments of agencies and whether there are opportunities to maximise the use of new and existing ICT investments in order to meet the Government’s broader objectives;
      [Recommendations 5.3.1, 5.5.1, 5.7.1, 5.7.2]
    4. the possible duplication of ICT systems (such as financial and human resource management) across government agencies, whether opportunity exists to consolidate existing or new systems, and what form any consolidation should take;
      [Recommendations 5.2.2, 5.3.3]
    5. the duplication of business processes across, and within agencies, and the effects this has on the costs to government and the quality of service delivery;
      [Recommendations 5.1.2, 5.3.3]
    6. barriers posed by existing legacy ICT investments across agencies and the potential for more consistency in new investments;
      [Recommendations 5.3.1, 5.2.2, 5.3.1]
    7. how agencies manage their staffing requirements for ICT projects, whether there are opportunities to improve the efficient use of staff and contract resources, and whether competitive pressures are driving up costs;
      [Recommendations 5.4.1, 5.4.2, 5.4.3, 5.4.4, 5.4.5, 5.4.6, 5.4.7]
    8. the existing ICT governance framework that guides the Australian Government’s use of ICT to deliver government outcomes;
      [Recommendations 5.1.1, 5.1.2, 5.1.3, 5.2.1]
    9. the possible role of the Department of Finance and Deregulation, or a similar central body, in contributing to more efficient and effective use of ICT across government; and
      [Recommendations 5.1.4, 5.1.5]
    10. any other matters as they arise, in consultation with the Minister for Finance and Deregulation.
      [Recommendation 5.2.4]
  3. To collect relevant information on the above issues, the review will focus on the use of ICT in selected Australian Government agencies that are a mix of large and small users of ICT.
    [Achieved via submissions, meetings and survey]
  4. The review will provide a snapshot of the current state of ICT in the Australian Government, what exists and how it is managed to deliver Government objectives.
    [Achieved via submissions, meetings, survey and Chapter 4 Key Findings]
  5. The review will have regard to the best practice approaches of other Australian and international jurisdictions and the private sector.
    [Achieved via submissions and meetings]
  6. The review will also have regard to planned work on whole-of-government ICT procurement.
    [Recommendations 5.6.1, 5.6.2, 5.6.3, 5.6.4, 5.6.5]
  7. The review must prepare a report for the Minister for Finance and Deregulation by September 2008. The report should set out recommendations to the Australian Government to drive greater efficiency in the use of ICT across government while enhancing or improving the capacity of ICT to support service and program delivery.
    [Achieved]
  8. In formulating recommendations that the Australian Government should take a particular course of action, the review should assess the resourcing, costs, benefits and any implementation risks of that action.
    [Achieved – set out in Chapter 6 Implementation]

L: Details of ICT Review Team

 

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Last Modified: 11 February, 2009