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Qld Health, DET to ditch shared services

Queensland Health and the state's Department of Education and Training (DET) is set to be separated from the government's IT shared services strategy.
Written by Luke Hopewell, Contributor

Queensland Health and the state's Department of Education and Training (DET) is set to be separated from the government's IT shared services strategy.

Heart monitor

(Lubbock Heart Hospital image by brykmantra, CC BY-SA 2.0)

PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC) made several key recommendations to the Queensland State Government following a damning report into the failure of the SAP-based Health payroll system by the state's Auditor-General. Public Works and Information and Communication Technology Minister Robert Schwarten said that the government would adopt all recommendations contained within the report.

The PwC report recommends that the DET and Queensland Health take responsibility for their own HR systems, instead of the two falling under the state's shared-services strategy.

"Larger agencies are able to independently fund and deliver internal corporate services, including payrolls," Schwarten said today.

A new rest-of-government shared service provider would remain within the Department of Public Works, providing shared human resource, payroll and finance services to other agencies. The agencies will have accountability for project delivery, although there will be centralised portfolio management and project support.

The Minister also announced plans today for a new shared services sub-committee to be formed within the Department of Premier and Cabinet. The sub-committee will oversee all shared services projects under government control.

Despite the failings of the Health payroll implementation, Schwarten said that shared services were still a valid option for government IT.

Earlier in the year, the Premier said in a statement that the Queensland Government would ditch the "one-size-fits-all shared services model" as the exclusive model for corporate services, and announced an overhaul of the government's shared service provider CorpTech.

Queensland Health staff suffered at the hands of the HR/payroll system disaster, with some nurses not receiving correct pay, if at all, and being placed on incorrect rosters with deceased colleagues. A meeting in April saw staff identify over 70 issues with the system.

The government will now consult with union groups and staff to determine the best implementation strategy for the new model.

"Staff affected by the review of the shared service model will be kept fully informed and supported during the transition to the new model," Schwarten added.

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