The Digital Transformation Agency has dished out a number of contracts to private companies worth millions of dollars, including for work on the redevelopment of myGov and a review of the government’s digital capabilities.
A number of new contracts and amendments to existing contracts were posted publicly by the Digital Transformation Agency (DTA) this week.
These include a pay rise and contract extension for consultancy firm Nous, which is offering advice on the redevelopment of the myGov platform. Nous has been awarded a further $1.7 million for another three months work on “horizon 2 project advice and support”, referring to the second phase of the program updating the myGov platform.
This contract is now worth a total of $3.1 million over nearly 18 months.
The amendment comes despite the myGov project being moved away from the DTA and to Services Australia late last year. The department has since created a panel of providers for continued work on the project, consisting of Deloitte, Accenture, IBM and Deloitte.
The DTA awarded Deloitte contracts worth nearly $30 million last year for initial work on the project.
The DTA has this week also handed cyber firm CyberCX, headed by former head of the Australian Cyber Security Centre Alastair MacGibbon, a significant contract amendment worth $5.5 million for “ongoing program support”. This more than doubled the existing deal, which is now worth $8.4 million and runs across all of 2021.
Consulting giant KPMG has also won a further $1.9 million through the DTA for “program support”, with the total job worth $2.7 million across seven months.
Fellow consulting bigwig PwC also landed a contract amendment of $715,000 to conduct a “five year digital and ICT investment review” as part of a deal worth $1 million across the second half of this year.
The DTA is conducting a review of the Australian public sector’s ICT capabilities, with Ernst & Young this week landing a contract amendment worth $320,000 for this week. E&Y will now be paid a total of $2.4 million for “digital review design, implementation and support” from January to August this year.
The DTA has handed Melbourne-based agency Today Strategic Design a $35,000 amendment on its contract to produce electronic reference material for “content leadership – online platforms”, bringing it to a total of $1.1 million over a year.
The swathe of new contracts comes amid a significant restructuring of the DTA. The agency was recently moved from Services Australia to the Department of Prime Minister & Cabinet, and is also facing “significantly reduced” funding and responsibility.
The DTA will see a reduction in its funding in actual terms of $40 million annually from this financial year, and will focus on providing strategic advice to government rather than service delivery and program management.
Responsibility for the myGov redevelopment and the digital identity scheme has moved from the DTA to Services Australia, while the APS digital profession program has been moved to the Australian Public Sector Commission.
The DTA also lost its chief executive Randall Brugeaud at the start of this month, who has moved to head up the Simplified Trade Systems Implementation Taskforce within the Department of Trade. DTA chief operating officer Peter Alexander is currently serving as the acting CEO.
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