The ACT's Chief Minister says change is needed to the way large procurement projects are managed following the handling of a human resources upgrade that cost $76 million before it was abandoned incomplete.
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"Out of this disappointing procurement will be change. I think that is necessary," Andrew Barr said on Tuesday.
Mr Barr said the recommendations from the Auditor-General to improve territory procurement processes had made sense to him, and would be considered closely by the government.
"From what I have seen of them, it makes sense to strengthen the role of the procurement board. So I'm very supportive of that," he said.
Mr Barr said it would be a very poor outcome to change the system so that ministers determined which companies were awarded government contracts.
"Change, I think, needs to maintain an important principle that ministers remain at arm's length from procurement decisions and procurement processes," he said.
Mr Barr said the public service had a responsibility for procurements.
"Directorates have responsibility once procurement is confirmed for the delivery of that; there is then accountability back to the ministers and the Assembly through the budget and estimates processes," he said.
"And it is clear that out of this process, there is a need for reform of the procurement process."
Special Minister of State Chris Steel on Monday revealed in estimates the decision had been taken to abandon the project following reviews and advice to government that another $142 million would need to be spent on top of the $76 million already paid to complete the project.
The actual cost of upgrades to the current human resources management system is estimated to be $15 million, with more than $17 million budgeted for the total project. ACT chief digital officer Bettina Konti said "less than a million dollars" would be spent to shut down the original human resource information management solution project.
Mr Steel said improved software meant the government could now upgrade its existing systems, an option that was not viable when the original decision was made to launch the HRIMS project and had been discounted too early, he said.
A review found the original project had been beset with problems from the start, and there was no single person accountable for delivering the new system and overall governance was "deficient" at all levels.
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The project, which had sought to switch the ACT to a computer system based on SAP SuccessFactors, had delivered a learning management system for territory government staff but not the combined payroll system before it was cancelled.
Mr Steel on Monday said the government still expected an upgrade to its human resources systems would deliver savings through efficiencies as a result of fewer manual processes and handling required.
"Certainly in the original HRIMS program, there were savings that were identified through efficiencies in the system, and so it's our intention to also look for efficiencies in the new system," he said.
Auditor-General Michael Harris last week told budget estimates the ACT procurement board should be given "a bit more teeth" so it could insist on changes to procurement processes.
More compulsory training for ACT public servants involved in making procurement decisions would also help address the problems, Mr Harris said.
Mr Harris also noted he had not discovered any evidence of deliberate misconduct in procurements subject to performance audits.
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Jasper Lindell
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
