News

The pillars of Australia’s research system

Opinion: Australia is preparing to make substantial investments in the assets, facilities and services that support research and innovation. An expert working group, led by Dr Ziggy Switkowski, is...

Billion-dollar boom forecast for govt IT spend

Australian governments are forecast to spend more than $6.4 billion dollars next year on IT services like consultants, managed services and cloud infrastructure, as part of a near double-digit...

Accenture gets $50m for digital identity work

The federal government will pay Accenture more than $3 million per month across the next year to work on its digital identity scheme, with the Irish multinational scoring a...

Sydney powerlines untangled using drone with hook

Electricity provider Ausgrid says a drone with a 3D-printed “hook” was recently used to untangle 800 metres of twisted powerlines in a remote and inaccessible part of the electricity...

Industry minister doing the ‘bare minimum’: Husic

The Opposition has accused Industry minister Christian Porter of neglecting his portfolio and doing the “bare minimum” after he failed to speak on two pieces of legislation in his...

Google faces showdown with government over ads

Opinion: A final report into the notoriously murky and concentrated digital advertising market should now be sitting on the Treasurer’s desk. The report, which was due by August 31, contains how...

Victorian council ‘infiltrated’ in cyber incident

Victoria’s Stonnington City Council is the latest Australian organisation to fall prey to a cyber incident, forcing systems offline and some staff to take annual leave while the issue...

Accenture wins ATO tech contracts worth $70m

Accenture has landed contracts with the tax office worth more than $70 million, including one which will see the Irish-domiciled multinational consultancy firm paid more than $5.5 million per...

ACCC seeks sweeping reform to M&A law

The competition regulator says Australia’s merger and acquisition laws are out of step with global standards and without reform will harm competition, innovation, and productivity. Competition tsar Rod Sims...

First Nations knowledge and insights into Western astronomy

Indigenous knowledge of astronomy is now starting to be recognised for its complexity, according to Indigenous astronomer, astrophysicist, science communicator and Gamilaraay woman, Karlie Noon. Ms Noon is an...

West Australia unveils $100m New Industries Fund

The Western Australian government’s 2021-22 State budget is investing in manufacturing including green steel, green hydrogen and battery metals, with the establishment of a $100 million Investment Attraction and...

Reg Coutts, NBN expert panellist, passes away

Professor Reg Coutts, one of six expert panelists who helped envisage the original National Broadband Network (NBN), has passed away. Professor Coutts passed away peacefully in hospital in Adelaide...

Hit by ransomware? You really need to report it

Opinion: The verdict is in: if you’ve been a victim of a ransomware attack, you will almost certainly be required to report the breach to the Privacy Commissioner and...