In other public sector ICT and digital news for the 13th of April

• WA Police has become the first law enforcement agency in the world to utilise Apple’s CarPlay app for operational policing. The app allows frontline officers to use voice commands while driving to manage incident response. WA Police partnered with Apple and Motorola Solutions to integrate CarPlay into the agency’s existing OneForce Core application. WA Minister for Police Paul Papalia says funding for the world-first initiative was funnelled from a Government allocation of $34 million to provide officers with personal-issue smartphones. 

• NSW has opened the doors to its newest Government department. The Department of Enterprise, Investment and Trade (DEIT) combines the enterprise and trade, tourism and hospitality, arts and culture, sport, and Western Sydney portfolios under a single cluster. The. DEIT aims to drive the state’s post-COVID economic recovery and create sustainable jobs for future growth.  

• The Australian Electoral Commission has selected Accenture as the delivery partner for tranche one of the election modernisation program. Accenture will build the foundations of the new system, dubbed Indigo, replacing the almost 30-year-old system currently in use. Indigo was allocated $97 million in the 2020-2021 Federal Budget. 

• The functions of the Digital Economy Minister and the Government Services Minister should be the responsibility of one minister, according to a recommendation by the Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA). The new Ministerial role be part of the Prime Minister and Cabinet portfolio and take on responsibility for digital and government services initiatives.  

• The Federal Government has established the Youth Advisory Council to advise Government when developing online safety policies, safety resources and initiatives. 24 young people from across the country will join the Council to guide Government on how Australia’s youth interacts with digital environments. 

• WA Police Commissioner Chris Dawson has been appointed as the state’s 34th Governor after serving in various law enforcement and criminal intelligence roles for 46 years. Dawson will take over from Kim Beazley on June 30 2022.   

• The Senate Select Committee on COVID-19 has delivered its findings on the efficacy of the COVIDSafe app. The Senate is calling for the Federal Government to discontinue funding for the app, claiming that it is not ‘fit for its intended purpose’ and offers ‘limited public value. According to the submission, the app was only able to detect 0.1% of close contacts in NSW between May and November 2020. The Digital Transformation Agency continues to run the app at a cost of around $60,000 per month. 

International News

• UK partners with AU and US to launch Europe’s largest tech festival 

• US law enforcement uses robots for public safety and disaster response 

• 76 suppliers chosen for £4B digital transformation framework 

• UK justice department launches digital service for freedom of information requests 

• UK’s ‘digital COVID passport’ undergoes £300k cyber review 

• ‘Gov Assure’ sees cyber risk audit across all UK departments 

• Deloitte scores £10m to deliver for WofG login system