How We Think

Australian government agencies are moving to the cloud at full speed, driven by the need for better service delivery, scalability and digital transformation.  With initiatives like the Secure Cloud Strategy, the Cloud Computing Policy and the new APS ERP approach, cloud-based services are being embraced with gusto across the public service.

Government has, understandably, sought to ensure service providers act ethically and do not engage in practices that can be considered unethical. That raises the ethical question – can and should consultants working within an agency use information gleaned from that agency? Stated another way, are we letting the foxes have the run of the chicken coop? The simple answer to that question is – there is no simple answer to that question.

For those following Australia’s long-and-winding road to privacy reform, it’s truly been a marathon rather than a sprint. The starter’s gun (officially) fired in October 2020 with an Issues Paper that reviewed the Commonwealth Privacy Act, 1988 followed by a Discussion Paper in late 2021, and then picked up pace with the Privacy Act Review Report in February 2023, with more than 100 reform recommendations. In November 2023, the Commonwealth Government’s Response to the Privacy Act Review Report agreed or agreed-in-principle to almost all of those recommendations. And on Parliament’s last sitting day for 2024, the reforms finally crossed the finished line, with the Senate’s passage of the Privacy and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2024 (2024 Privacy Bill). Spoiler alert, the 2024 Privacy Bill was only the first leg on the journey – and it contained less than a quarter of all the proposed privacy reforms. Despite that fact, the first tranche of privacy reforms do pack a punch – and in ways that may not be readily apparent.

In an era where the expectations of public service extend beyond mere functionality, procurement professionals are at a crossroads. Their challenge lies not just in sourcing goods and services efficiently, but also in embodying the values of equity and inclusion that reflect the diverse fabric of Australian society. For procurement practitioners and the broader Australian community, the Indigenous Procurement Policy (IPP, or the Policy) offers a unique opportunity to reshape the landscape of procurement, enabling us to champion not only economic growth but also social justice for Indigenous communities. As we delve into the nuances of the IPP, we must ask ourselves: how can we leverage this framework to drive meaningful change, achieve value-for-money and foster an inclusive economy?

Who and what’s an informed purchaser? In simple terms, an informed purchaser is someone who gets the best value-for-money – and that applies to any procurement, whether you’re shopping for a new car or buying essential goods for the Commonwealth. The challenge for procurement practitioners and those working in the government sector is that ‘the Commonwealth,’ ‘the State’ or ‘the Territory’ can be seen as an abstract concept, along the lines of ‘big government’ or faceless or nameless processes. However, a simple way to think about being an informed purchaser, and any procurement process is to ask yourself – what would I do if I were spending the money? The first step is to do a little research – and that applies equally to buying submarines, power plants or the family ute.

It’s fair to say that Shakespeare was not thinking about Artificial Intelligence (AI) in late 16th Century England when he put quill to parchment – and coined that phrase in Henry VI, Part 2. But the sentiment has endured well into the 21st Century – and it’s been echoed in gleeful predictions about the demise of lawyers and the legal profession.