News

Outsourcing is on the nose: CPSU

The government’s six-week, $858,000 deal with McKinsey to provide advice on the design of Services Australia has been slammed by the public sector union, with fears it will lead...

What happened to Jobs for NSW?

The future of direction of the NSW government’s startup and SME-focused industry development body Jobs for NSW remains up in the air five months after the re-election of the...

Sims urges action on digital platforms

Existing data protection laws have failed Australians and the government needs to get on the front foot to better protect privacy and curb the market dominance of the tech...

Rolled-gold: ServicesAus deal

Revelations that the federal government is paying McKinsey a standard “day rate” of up to $16,000 for senior partners to provide strategic advice on the design of government services...

New visa holds global promise

The federal government has unveiled a new, fast-tracked migration stream for highly-skilled global talent as part of its newfound effort to address the local skills gap and grow the...

Expensive reliance on outside advice

The government’s use of external consultants to design Services Australia is “deeply concerning” and risks the new department having an “expensive, debilitating dependency” on outsourcing, according to the deputy...

Employee share scheme withers

The government is yet to reveal how it would proceed with proposed changes to Employee Share Schemes, nearly nine months after they were first revealed. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg announced...

Mike Burgess gets ASIO call-up

Less than two years ago, Mike Burgess was the chief information security officer within Australia’s largest telecommunications carrier Telstra. From the middle of next month he will become the...

Govt’s digital ID is in trouble

The government needs to conduct a full-scale review to get its digital identity project back under control in the wake of spiralling costs, delays and a lack of transparency,...

The marketplace needs a boost

The federal government’s Digital Marketplace should be celebrated for the role it has played in driving new digital workforce skills into the public sector. But it has failed in...

Global Talent visa made permanent

A trial visa program helping Australian tech companies attract skilled overseas workers has been made permanent by the federal government following a 12-month pilot. The Global Talent-Employer Sponsored (GTES)...

SA gov’t drops Blue Sky VC

The South Australian government has dropped Blue Sky as the manager of its $50 million tech fund, as the company now shows “no interest” in venture capital. It comes...

WA moves to build data laws

Western Australia is set to finally introduce privacy legislation to govern the protection and sharing of personal data, with plans to establish a Privacy Commissioner and Chief Data Officer....

Gov’t ID review finally delivered

A long-overdue review into identity security has finally been handed to government, just as the Coalition recommits to its controversial facial recognition legislation. The Department of Home Affairs launched...