Oz slammed for failed IT projects

CIO reports.

In his joint report with the state auditor general, Victorian ombusman George Brouwer says: “There have been a number of high-profile cost and time blow-outs in ICT, and both the auditor general and I have tabled reports in Parliament that relate to ICT-enabled projects.”

IT News says the ombudsman studied 10 ongoing, recently completed and discontinued projects that had a total budget of $1.3 billion originally, but could cost up to $2.74 billion upon completion.

"On average, projects will have more than doubled in cost by the time they are finished," explains Brouwer.

Brouwer blames poor leadership and accountability for failures, noting the Department of Treasury and Finance relied too heavily on agencies for project governance.

Nine MSN states the original HealthSmart budget was $323 million, but the final project cost was estimated to be $566 million.

The Australian ticketing system, Myki, originally budgeted at $999 million, will need at least $350 million more to complete.

Brouwer indicates there had been abject waste, with Victoria Police spending $59 million on its crime database, Link, over four years, only to have it cancelled in a "tardy" decision.