Neville Roach, National ICT Australia's (NICTA) founding chairman, has announced his resignation from the organization.

Neville Stevens, NICTA's deputy chairman, will take over as chairman.

Roach has been chairman since September 2002 and has been involved with NICTA since 2001 when he chaired the consortium to establish a national ICT centre of excellence with federal government funding.

NICTA's founding members are the New South Wales and ACT governments, the University of NSW, and the Australian National University. The organization was formally launched in May 2003, and is based at the Australian Technology Park (ATP) in Sydney.

NICTA now has 16 research programs across Australia, more than 40 research projects, and some 350 staff and students. The company has also commenced collaborative projects with ICT vendors, including IBM and Microsoft and local small-to-medium enterprises.

NICTA's new chairman commended Roach for his leadership and contribution to Australia's ICT industry.

"I would like to thank Neville Roach for his contribution to the Australian technology and communications industry and R&D sectors," Stevens said. "He has brought immense industry experience and energy to his role and been a vital part of helping NICTA become the centre of excellence it is today."

Roach said through his involvement with the NICTA bid consortium and the company, he has been conscious of the "enormous" responsibility given by the Australian government and members to "wisely invest and manage" the $500 million in public funding granted to the organization.

"There is no doubt that NICTA has achieved global scale and has attracted a large number of excellent researchers who are excited at the prospect of building a new and different national institution that enhances Australia's reputation internationally and generates substantial national wealth," Roach said.

"However, my dream for NICTA is more than scale and excellence, significant, but relatively straightforward objectives, given the substantial funds allocated. NICTA must go well beyond such commonplace goals. It must provide genuine and exceptional leadership, making a significant difference to both Australia's ICT research sector and ICT industry."