The Canberra Times - Departments' multimillion-dollar tech platforms 'bypassing' govt review

Millions of dollars in government tech investments are not aligned with the Commonwealth's digital framework before being approved for funding.

Politicians across both sides of the aisle are raising the alarm that departments are bypassing the Digital Transformation Agency's assurance process, and signing off on multimillion-dollar tech investments that don't follow whole-of-government guidelines.

Of the 38 "significant investment proposals" analysed by the agency this year, fewer than half were aligned with the Australian Government Architecture.

The Australian Government Architecture is designed to reduce risk, encourage re-use and ensure systems are secure.

This year is the first time proposals have been assessed against this framework.

When the DTA undertook a broader scan of digital proposals for the 2024-25 budget, a larger number were non-compliant with the framework. Of the 111 proposals analysed, only 21 were aligned.

ACT Senator Katy Gallagher said there was more to do to ensure digital projects were aligned with the whole of government framework. Picture by Keegan Carroll

Finance Minister Senator Katy Gallagher said the figures were of concern.

"We have made it a requirement that agencies engage with the DTA and there is more to do there to get better compliance and work with the DTA in earlier stages of the project," she said.

The Coalition's spokesperson for government services and the digital economy, Paul Fletcher, said there was a "widespread problem of a lack of compliance".

"We don't think the DTA is providing the kind of assurance processes that it ought to be," Mr Fletcher said.

Coalition spokesperson for government services and the digital economy Paul Fletcher said department were bypassing proper scrutiny of their digital investments. Picture by Keegan Carroll

While there are requirements that departments engage with the agency, it is not mandatory that projects receive a sign off before being funded.

Senator Gallagher said there were certain departments that were of concern, but declined to name them.

"There are departments that engage and respond better than others," she said.

"We know who they are and we are working with them."

Mr Fletcher said the budget papers revealed where the lack of alignment was seeing projects blow out in cost, as scope and requirements change. Mr Fletcher pointed to the $400 million health delivery modernisation program, delivered by Services Australia, which he said had been "rebaselined" with deliverables delayed and the project rated "high risk" by the DTA. Despite this, the project continues to receive funding, with an additional $57.4 million included in the latest budget.

"The central point is DTA has a job to do, and it needs the authority to do it. At the moment it can effectively be bypassed by other departments and that is problematic," Mr Fletcher said.

DTA branch manager - strategy and prioritisation - Lauren Mills said the agency welcomed the growth in alignment with the Australian Government Architecture and continued to proactively engage with departments on its use.

"Through the Digital Investment Overview, agencies engage early with the DTA to develop their digital proposals. By engaging early in the development process, agencies have an opportunity to strengthen their alignment to the AGA as their proposal and digital programs mature," she said.

In February, the agency published its digital project data, which ranked projects based on the DTA's "delivery confidence assessment". The agency is expected to publish an update next year.

Mr Fletcher said this was not enough, and there needed to be greater transparency in how multimillion-dollar digital projects were being assessed.

"We certainly think it is problematic that DTA published a kind of status report, pretty much in response to an FOI request from me as a shadow minister," he said.

"There needs to be a more proactive approach if DTA is to do its job effectively.

"This is something that we'll have more to say on in the lead-up to the election."