[ad_1]
IT contractors for Services Australia have received an unwanted early Christmas present. Image: Shutterstock
About 1,000 IT contractors at Services Australia were made redundant last week just ahead of the launch of the government’s new MiGov application, and rumors are rife in Canberra that more cuts are coming in the new year as the government looks to reduce its reliance on consultants and contractors.
A Service Australia spokesperson said contractors were engaged during COVID-19 to deliver projects such as Social Care Infrastructure Transformation and Aged Care Funding Reform.
“These projects have now been brought to an end,” the spokesman said.
“This means up to 1,000 ICT contractors will be out of business in the next few weeks.” All affected contracts will be terminated in accordance with the relevant terms and conditions of notice.”
Former contractors have expressed concern that it may be difficult to find new work given the slowdown in hiring over Christmas and New Year.
Service Australia thanked the contractors for their work which helped to “significantly strengthen [its] ICT systems to meet unprecedented demand”.
“These contractors are highly skilled professionals, working in an area of high demand in the current tight employment market,” the spokesman said, adding that Services Australia had contacted other government agencies “who may be in a position to offer new opportunities”.
Opposition government services spokesman Paul Fletcher called the contractor cancellation a “missed opportunity” to further upgrade Medicare and Centrelink, accusing Government Services Minister Bill Shorten of being a “Luddite” who wants to see more permanent Australian Public Service (APS) staff not because the job security they provide, but because it would mean more union members.
“This hit in digital delivery is revealing,” Fletcher said Monday.
“Albania’s Labor Government is shifting resources from more efficient and tailored digital service delivery to the over-the-counter paper-based ways of the past.”
Shorten this week unveiled the new miGov app, which took around 18 months to put together and aims to be a one-stop shop for accessing government services.
The app includes a wallet for credentials such as Centrelink concession cards and COVID-19 vaccine certificates, with the addition of Medicare cards coming soon.
Labor went to the May election promising to reduce the APS’s reliance on contractors and consultants.
Last year’s Senate inquiry into APS recommended that the government “exercise greater oversight in the awarding of ICT contracts” to give Australian companies a better chance to compete with multinational consultants and to “ensure that technical capacity is built within the APS”.
Chief information and digital officer Charles McHardie said the questionnaire at APS had a “55/50 split” between contractors and staff, but there was pressure to move the dial towards “70 per cent of the APS technical workforce, 30 percent of contractors”.
He boasted that his agency had “the largest in-house ICT capability in the federal government,” most of which was focused on designing and writing code, and “the largest SAP workforce in the southern hemisphere.”
Have you been affected by service contractor cuts in Australia? Contact ia@acs.org.au to share your story.
[ad_2]
Source link
