By Freya Purnell
Former South Australian CIO Andrew Mills has taken on the top IT job in Queensland, effective 6 January.
Annoucing Mills’ appointment, Queensland IT Minister Ian Walker said he will lead the Newman Government’s IT reform agenda of renewal and transformation to improve frontline services for Queenslanders, outlined in the ICT Strategy 2103-2017.
“During his tenure as CIO in South Australia, Mr Mills was instrumental in improving online service capability,” said Walker. “This appointment comes at a critical juncture. We have already unveiled the Open Data portal, launched the One-Stop Shop plan and released the ICT Strategy and Action Plan; we need to ensure the momentum keeps going.”
Mills said, “I am looking forward to working with the State Government CIO team and broader IT community to enhance the government’s use of IT assets to deliver better services to the people of Queensland.”
Ensuring ICT projects and programs are well-managed and transparent is a key focus for the Queensland Government, following the failed Queensland Health payroll system implementation, according to Walker.
“This has been accomplished through the creation of an ICT dashboard which is available online for all to see. The dashboard shows information on significant IT projects in government departments, including their progress and cost,” he said.
Meanwhile, in South Australia, Bret Morris has stepped into Mills’ former role as whole-of-government CIO in South Australia.
Morris previously held the role of executive director, corporate operations and governance, within the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, which is also the home of the Office of the Chief Information Officer.
Morris began a handover from Mills in December, following the release of SA Connected, the new South Australian Government ICT strategy, in late November.
With an emphasis on releasing government data to create innovative community services, the strategy will be supported by 50 initiatives (some of which have been completed or are underway), to make data more open and accessible.
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