Government News

Australia’s public sector agencies were foremost in the transition to remote working during the first coronavirus lockdowns. Yet, as the Covid-19 situation continues to unfold, agency staff are finding themselves increasingly challenged in this ‘new normal’ operating environment. Many have...

The ACSC releases guidance for govts on safe cloud adoption; NZ unveils “world-first” standards for the ethical use of algorithms.  Tracking the week that was in digital innovations and developments across Australia and New Zealand’s public sectors. The ACSC has...

The ACT Government has announced it will move forward with a full rollout of its “world-leading” Digital Health Record system, promising Territory clinicians access to real-time, detailed patient data. Through the new system, which will cost the ACT Government $114.1...

The WA Government has invited public feedback on a draft Digital Inclusion Blueprint, which will outline strategies to enhance connectivity and improve digital literacy for Western Australians. The final Blueprint would address longstanding connectivity and digital literacy gaps across the...

Australia’s Department of Health has called upon platform developers to help implement a new integrated data and analytics human resources (HR) system, which will tap into data repositories from across the DoH and external agency systems. The new commercial off-the-shelf...

WA Health systems breached, DFAT slashes IT workforce, and NSW launches local tech industry-boosting Taskforce. Tracking the week that was in digital innovations and developments across Australia and New Zealand’s public sectors. More than 400 pages worth of confidential medical...

The Australian Government has unveiled a $19 million funding package to support the development of artificial intelligence technologies for healthcare, including a number of groundbreaking mental health initiatives.   The latest funding supports research and development in a variety of...

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced a record investment in Australia’s cybersecurity, with $1.35 billion earmarked for programs to enhance the country’s digital and information warfare capabilities over the next decade, including a new $35 million real-time cyber defence platform....

The Federal Government unveils record $1.3b investment in the nation’s cyber defences and OAIC releases ‘Foundational Four’ data management guidance for agencies. Tracking the week that was in digital and technology innovation across Australia and New Zealand’s public sectors.  ...

June saw a number of high-profile appointments across the public sector, with noteworthy additions to the DTA, Victoria’s Government Services ministry, and the CSIRO.   The Federal Government has appointed Kirstjen Nielsen to advise the Government on its cybersecurity strategy, set to be released this...

Social media giant Twitter has conceded users on its network have the potential to significantly disrupt the operations of government and industry, as malicious, state-sponsored actors and misinformation campaigns proliferate on the platform.   The likelihood and risk of future...

Major outage strikes NSW hospitals e-records system and ACSC releases emergency security guidelines in the wake of suspected state-sponsored cyberattack on Australia. Tracking the week that was in tech and digital innovation across Australia and New Zealand’s government sector.   In...

Victoria’s Environment Protection Authority (EPA) has launched a new drone-equipped aerial surveillance program to spot waste disposal licence breaches, announcing it will conduct impromptu spot checks to gather evidence on offending landfill operators.   The authority’s Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS)...

The ACT Government’s Community Services Directorate (CSD), which assumes a broad remit of client services for the Territory’s human services functions, lacks adequate protections for data used across its front-line services, warns ACT Auditor-General Michael Harris. The concerns were highlighted...

The NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) has warned state agencies to tackle procurement fraud against a backdrop of overcharging, poorly defined supplier relationships, and unmonitored contracts. An investigation by ICAC, which culminated in the Commission’s recently released Supplier Due Diligence:...