Information Technology in the Public Sector
Overview
The Budget and Economic Review Committee has recently approved a co-ordinated approach to the outsourcing of IT services, with the exception of policy setting, for all Victorian public sector agencies. The aim of the approach is to maximise the outsourcing of IT service provision, consistent with the objective of efficient and effective IT. The findings in this Report indicate that there has been a failure of government agencies in the past to address fundamental IT controls which has exposed the Government to a number of risks such as excessive costs, ineffective systems and penalties under the Copyright Act 1968. As the Government moves to contract out IT services, it will be even more important to ensure that adequate IT standards are promulgated by the Government to ensure that private sector providers do not repeat the mistakes outlined in this Report.