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In other government ICT news this week, 29 October 2012

by Intermedium •
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National E-Health Transition Authority (NeHTA) CEO Peter Fleming has confirmed to the Senate Estimates Committee that the organisation has terminatedits $23.6 million contract with IBM to provide a National Authentication Service for Health, which was to lay the foundations for Personally Controlled Electronic Health Record (PCEHR). He said that the Department of Human Services (DHS) was currently providing an interim solution.

Medicare, which is now part of the DHS, originally tendered to provide the authentication services to NeHTA using its existing ICT infrastructure but was beaten to the contract by IBM.

Confirmation of the termination comes just weeks after the Department of Health and Ageing, which is leading the implementation of the PCEHR, approached the market for advice about market testing its 15 year ICT outsourcing arrangement with IBM.

Computerworld reports that TransACT has signed a $14.9 million agreement with CrimTrac for a 10 year lease which will provide the information sharing authority with a secondary data centre. The contract was signed under the whole-of-government panel for Data Centre Facilities. Back in 2010, The Australian reported that CrimTrac had engaged Canberra Data Centres for the provision of its primary facility.

Commissioner Michael D'Ascenzo has announced that he will retire from his job as the head of the Australian Taxation Office at the end of 2012, after 35 years in the public service.

The ICT unit at the NSW Department of Education and Communities is investigating how someone was able to break in to Director General Michele Bruniges email account and send a message to the department’s staff protesting the Government’s cuts to the education budget.

Accenture has won a $12.3 million contract with the Department of Defence for software design services. The deal has been signed through Defence’s Applications Managed Services Partner Agreement (AMSPA), under which Accenture has oversight of the human resources domain of expertise.

Security specialist Morpho has won $6.6 million worth of deals with the NSW Police Force, for the supply of a new fleet of fingerprint capture devices as well as the maintenance of the agency’s existing stocks.

Fairfax reports that NSW Government water corporation State Water has begun an enterprise wide IT overhaul to improve systems put together on an ad-hoc basis when the agency was formed in 2004. ERP, human resources, customer relations and asset management applications are set to be replaced, in addition to a $1 million data centre refresh which will see 95 per cent of the agency’s servers virtualised.

Hydro Tasmania has had a business case approved for its own ICT modernisation project, according to IT News. The centrepiece of the program will be the water authority’s Core Application Systems Processes and Redevelopment Project (CASPaR), focusing on the updates to ERP systems.

Tasmania’s Department of Health and Human Services has opened applications for the role of Chief Information Officer. The senior executive position is being contracted on a fixed five year term, and will take responsibility for implementing the Department’s recent ICT reforms.

The Queensland Ambulance Service has formally launched operations of its iRoam software which allows Ambulance supervisors to manage emergency ward admissions from an iPad, and direct incoming paramedics accordingly. The application has been developed internally by the agency and Regional Operations Supervisors across the State have been provided with an iPads.

Telstra has acquired South Australian ISP Adam Internet, which is one of four members of the SA Government’s Hosting Services Panel.

Delimiter has published a copy of an email purportedly sent by CenITex Chief Executive Michael Vanderheide to staff, following the uncovering of corrupt practices within the agency by the State’s Ombudsman.

Related Articles:

IBM offers Health stability in a time of change

Metronode wins Bureau of Meteorology data centre lease

Defence reveals AMSPA domains of expertise

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