The Federal Government will invest around $250 million over five years to modernise IT infrastructure and statistical analysis processes at the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). This is the largest infrastructure investment in the ABS’ 110-year history. Australian statistician, David Kalisch, said the ABS currently maintains more than 500 systems through its many business areas, and the investment will allow the organisation to move to an efficient enterprise-wide approach. “Some of our critical IT infrastructure components are over 30 years old. One of three applications have been classed as unreliable, with issues occurring daily or weekly, and one in six applications is no longer supported by the vendor due to technology being outdated,” he said. “Whilst our ICT staff have been working hard to maintain the existing systems, they have become increasingly vulnerable to failure and error.” Kalisch said the investment would deliver ongoing savings in the long term and reduce red tape for households and businesses that provide information to the ABS. The ABS plans to deliver a predominantly digital Census in 2016 and the move online will provide a Census that is easier to complete. “The ABS will continue to look for opportunities to integrate Census data with other data sets to increase the range of insights provided and ensure the Census delivers maximum benefits to governments and the community,” Kalisch said. Kalisch added that the ABS will innovate to transform its social and economic statistics over the coming years to take advantage of big data and the use of administrative information for statistical and research purposes. The new technology infrastructure will deliver millions of dollars in regulatory burden savings – about $13 million in 2021 compared to 2016, the government said. New online forms, to be introduced by 2021, will reduce the time it takes to complete the Census by 10 minutes. “As there will be over 10 million households in Australia in 2021, and three-quarters of these households are expected to complete the form online, this adds up to significant savings,” the government said. “When population growth is taken in account, the reduction in regulatory burden is almost $24 million.” Follow CIO Australia on Twitter and Like us on Facebook… Twitter: @CIO_Australia, Facebook: CIO Australia, or take part in the CIO conversation on LinkedIn: CIO Australia Follow Byron Connolly on Twitter:@ByronConnolly Related content feature 10 most popular IT certifications for 2023 Certifications are a great way to show employers you have the right IT skills and specializations for the job. These 10 certs are the ones IT pros are most likely to pursue, according to data from Dice. By Sarah K. White May 26, 2023 8 mins Certifications Careers interview Stepping up to the challenge of a global conglomerate CIO role Dr. Amrut Urkude became CIO of Reliance Polyester after his company was acquired by Reliance Industries. He discusses challenges IT leaders face while transitioning from a small company to a large multinational enterprise, and how to overcome them. By Yashvendra Singh May 26, 2023 7 mins Digital Transformation Careers feature 移民のバックストーリーが、技術リーダーを育てる 移民としての物語を有するテックリーダーには、共感と多様性に根ざした視点を持ち、かつてはほとんどなかった無数の機会を有している。 By Inna Lazareva May 25, 2023 1 min Diversity and Inclusion Careers IT Leadership feature BNY Mellon、AIを活用してマスターデータを改善 By Peter Sayer May 25, 2023 1 min Master Data Management Artificial Intelligence Data Management Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe