News

DTA slammed for breaking procurement rules in $55m ICT spend

An examination of the Digital Transformation Agency’s most costly procurements has found it did not manage risks or follow Commonwealth Procurement Rules, and “fell short of ethical requirements” in...

Govt handpicked Deloitte for myGov upgrade

Deloitte was the only supplier approached for a major overhaul of the myGov platform that has netted the consulting giant more than $45 million so far, a scathing audit...

No proof COVIDSafe app developers were delivering

The government agency responsible for outsourcing the development of the failed COVIDSafe app did not monitor the developer’s performance or consider value for money as the contract more than...

Women in STEM earn $26,000 less than men

The gender pay gap persists across all STEM industries as women continue to be underrepresented in senior leadership roles, according to the latest edition of the federal government’s STEM...

Food and agribusiness: The value we have left on the table

Just as Australia is highly efficient in extracting commodity minerals through our resources sector, we are likewise World Champion commodity food producers, with some 70 per cent of our...

Qld-South Korea signs $20bn green ammonia deal

Queensland will export more than one million tonnes of green ammonia to South Korea annually by 2032 as three of the country’s largest conglomerates and Queensland-based Ark Energy embark...

NT lines up its first battery cathode manufacturing plant

Taiwanese battery materials manufacturer Aleees and ASX-listed miner Avenira have signed a memorandum of understanding with the Northern Territory government to develop the top end’s first battery cathode manufacturing...

My Health Record funding void adds to Budget pressures

A decision by the former Coalition government not to fund the My Health Record system beyond the current financial year is contributing to the “immediate” financial pressures now weighing...

Fortescue’s $9bn decarbonisation plan for mining operations

Andrew Forrest’s $9 billion package to accelerate the decarbonisation of iron ore giant Fortescue’s operations by 2030  includes the mass deployment of more renewable energy as part of an...

Carrick Ryan joins InnovationAus as a columnist

Former counterterrorism agent Carrick Ryan will join the InnovationAus.com roster of columnists, bringing a focus on the cross-section of technology and the law, with a particular focus on privacy...

IBM govt contract renewal: It’s deal time!

In 2018, the then-Minister for Digital Transformation Michael Keenan announced a wide-ranging five-year whole-of-government contract with IBM. With an estimated contract value of $1 billion, this contract has recently...

Defence ICT strategy underpins sovereign tech capability

Recently I wrote an article for InnovationAus in their Innovation Papers series, titled ‘A Minister for ICT Capability would secure sovereign needs’. Since then, Defence has released its ICT...

Home Affairs revives facial recognition plan for airports

A plan to introduce facial recognition SmartGates in the arrivals halls of Australia’s international airports has been revived, but the federal government will now adopt a two-step system that...