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Queensland govt still looking for CIO

Nearly six months on and the government is still yet to appoint a state CIO, but recruitment process "well underway"

Nearly six months on from announcing that Queensland would appoint a new CIO to oversee the state's ICT, the government has confirmed that it is still yet to fill the role.

In its latest quarterly update, the Department of Public Works said acting deputy director-general information and procurement, Department of Public Works, Andrew Spina, said recruitment for the “key government position” was "well underway".

UPDATE: Professor Peter Grant appointed to role.

“It will be a stand-alone position established at chief executive officer level and will report directly to the minister for information and communication technology," Spina said.

“This key position will have responsibility for providing strategic leadership, management and advice to ensure that value through whole-of Government ICT investment is maximised.”

The role, announced by Queensland premier Anna Bligh in July, will oversee ICT project management for the government. The role will report directly to the Minister for ICT, and support the director-general of the state Department of Premier and Cabinet.

The role was also announced in the wake of Queensland Health’s bungled payroll system rollout. According to department, once the position is filled, the ICT Policy and Coordination Office, Public Sector ICT Development Office, and Telecommunications, Broadband and Digital Economy Coordination Office will report to the CIO.

Other changes were underway at the Department of Public Works including the establishment of the Information and Procurement Division, which includes CITEC, Smart Service Queensland, Queensland State Archives, and which will report to Spina.

“I strongly believe this is good news for both industry and government,” Spina said of the changes. “These arrangements will be finalised soon, but in the meantime we are proactively progressing our initiatives – it’s currently business as usual.”

The department also noted that it had recently revamped the qld.gov.au website to deliver a more consistent platform for the state’s residents.

“By introducing a customer-focused franchise model for the Queensland government website, customers no longer need to understand how government is structured to access particular government information and services,” Smart Service Queensland general manager, Dianne Jeans, said of the changes to the website.

“This will enhance functionality and usability, and assist in improving our customers’ online experience, ensuring more people are able to find content and complete their journey online.”

Join the CIO Australia group on LinkedIn. The group is open to CIOs, IT Directors, COOs, CTOs and senior IT managers.

More about: Andrew, Queensland Health, Smart, TEC
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Comments

1

Peter

Thu 01/12/2011 - 18:56

Peter Grant, previous CIO (for about 6 months, 3 or 4 years ago) and since head of Microsoft for QLD, has been re-hired for the role.

One wonders whether his involvement with Microsoft will taint any objectivity around acceptance of Open Source...

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