Tasmania to spend AU$22m on digital transformation in 2018-19
The Tasmanian government has delivered its 2018-19 state Budget, announcing plans to spend AU$22 million on digital transformation during the year.
In particular, the state will be investing AU$10 million into its Digital Transformation Priority Expenditure Program, AU$7.8 million on Project Unify, and another AU$1.5 million on its Budget Information Management System (BIMS).
The project to revamp the technology used by major service delivery government agencies spent AU$10 million in 2017-18, with the total funding of AU$50 million continuing an annual investment of AU$10 million per year until 2021-22.
Another digital transformation initiative, Project Unify, is hoping to upgrade a number of "disparate, disconnected, and ageing" Police IT systems that support policing operations and external clients.
"For the department to ensure safe and effective service delivery into the future, information data management systems will be replaced, including core structures and interfaces," the government explains.
"This work will see the ongoing burden of maintaining ageing, legacy ICT infrastructure reduced and allows the department to focus its resources on supporting the community."
The state expects a further AU$2.3 million to be spent on Project Unify in 2019-20.
The 2018-19 Budget is the first to be delivered via the state's new BIMS, which has been operational since April.
The BIMS replaced the previous Budget Management System which had been used to prepare the Budget for over 20 years, the government explained on Thursday.
"BIMS is utilising contemporary technology to support the development and management of the state budget by Treasury and agencies," the papers said. "The development of BIMS will eliminate the risks associated with the operation of a legacy system and provide opportunities to improve Budget processes and be more responsive to changing Budget requirements."
This includes the commencement of the operation of the new Financial Management Act on July 1, 2019.
It is expected that over the next 18 months, the final phases of the BIMS Project will be undertaken, with a focus on improving useability features, including reporting and identifying process efficiencies which will be supported by the new system.
A total of AU$7.5 million will be spent on BIMS by completion.
The digital transformation funding accounts for roughly 3 percent of the state's total infrastructure investment.
A total of AU$54.2 million will also be spent on IT-related service delivery initiatives throughout 2018-19, as part of its infrastructure investment, including AU$100,000 on a new workforce planning software system for Tasmania Police.
Police will also be receiving AU$400,000 over four years to spend on drones.
Small businesses get a boost
Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in Tasmania have been given a leg up in the state's 2018-19 Budget, with the government offering AU$13.6 million towards its plan to take the SMB sector to the "next level".
AU$7.5 million will also be available via grants to support small businesses employ more apprentices and trainees.
In a bid to reduce shoplifting from Tasmanian businesses, the government has allocated AU$300,000 over four years to implement a number of initiatives, including increasing police presence in shopping precincts and providing a no-interest loan scheme to small businesses that want to install high definition digital recording cameras for CCTV.
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