John Gwyther, chairman of the Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA) said it had been pushing the government to lay down a framework of where they saw the industry heading prior to last year's Federal Election.
-The ICT industry does impact all parts of daily life," said Gwyther. -If it's [the framework] not done well it'll be something that holds Australia back."
-The government understands the transport industry affects all part of Australia, and similarly need to understand the impact of the ICT industry."
Gwyther said the presence, or absence, of a national framework sends a powerful signal to people who would invest in Australia as to the commitment of government.
The Australian Computer Society (ACS) is also conducting a forum this week to gather ideas from the industry, and plans to submit a report to government.
Professor John Houghton, who is preparing the report, said the comments would be combined with input from other industry stakeholders.
"There was strong support for a greater emphasis on linkages to help build bridges with user communities and vertical markets, as well as the sense that more needs to be done to improve local commercialisation capabilities," he said.
The Federal Government discussed its plans for the ICT framework for the Future at last month's World Congress in Adelaide.
