IBM and Lockheed Martin are the last firms standing in the bid to provide end-to-end services under the Department of Defence’s major data centre consolidation project, aimed at reducing the Department’s 280 data centres to less than 10. Defence announced on 24 September 2013 that the third shortlisted vendor Hewlett-Packard will not be progressing to the next phase of parallel negotiations. The request for tender, which was issued in September 2012, is expected to be awarded in the third quarter of 2014, with the preferred tenderer to be announced in early 2014.

New Health Minister Peter Dutton has begun a review of the $1 billion personally controlled electronic health record (PCEHR) system, reports the Australian. The system, which has had a slow initial uptake amongst citizens and health practitioners alike, will be assessed on its current status and implementation progress.

NSW Health Pathology is searching for a CIO to deliver a five-year ICT strategic plan and undertake a range of other functions relating to planning, procurement, policy development, monitoring of key corporate systems services, and costing and benchmarking. The permanent full-time position will report to the Directorate of Corporate Strategy, and includes the provision of advice to the Chief Executive, Board and Executive Team. Applications close on 6 October 2013.

The most recent meeting of the NSW Government’s ICT Board included an update on the implementation of the Digital Information Security Policy, which is expected to be in place across agencies by the end of 2013. The Board also approved the Government’s Open Data Policy, which is yet to be released in its final form, and the NSW Foundation Spatial Data Framework on spatial datasets. The Board’s next meeting will be on 13 November 2013.

The Queensland Government is looking to appoint a Health Ombudsman by the end of 2013 to reform the complaints process, with the selection process underway and KPMG conducting a preliminary analysis and planning for the establishment of a Health Ombudsman’s Office. Once appointed, the Ombudsman will report to the Health Minister and the Parliamentary Committee on Health and Community Services.

TAFE Queensland has issued a request for information (RFI) for the provision of an electronic document and records management system delivered as a managed service. The requested services include electronic document workflows for increased collaboration, the electronic implementation of the TAFE Retention and Disposal Schedule, improved document security and searchability, and the optional provision of Microsoft SharePoint and HP TRIM. The RFI aims to find information on market capability and whole-of-life costs. Submissions close on 14 October 2013.

The Australian National Audit Office has approached the market for an IT Audit Services panel for the procurement of contracted auditors and managers to conduct performance audits and external financial statement audits. According to tender documents, services requested through the panel may additionally include financial information and human resource management applications, IT security, audits of operating systems and audits of IT system design and implementation. The request for tender closes on 25 October 2013, and the execution of contracts is expected to begin progressively from 29 November.

The Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) has issued a request for tender for the provision of an electronic document and records management system (eDRMS) and associated implementation services. The system should integrate with the agency’s existing Microsoft Office, Outlook and Windows Explorer environment. An industry briefing will be held in Melbourne on 1 October 2013, and submissions close on 25 October.

ASQA is also asking for expressions of interest for the provision of an ANX Core Business Solution. The agency is seeking a commercial off-the-shelf system to manage registration, regulation and finances in Vocational Education and Training organisations. The solution will need to integrate with other critical systems such as eDRMS and SAP.

Related Articles:

Defence reveals timeframe for Distributed Computing approach to market

Health CIOs departing in NSW and South Australia

TAFE Queensland looks to move another major system into the cloud

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