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occurring daily or weekly, and one in six applications is no longer supported by the vendor due to technology being outdated,” he said.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 brandpost Sponsored by Palo Alto Networks Operational technology systems require a robust Zero Trust strategy in 2024 Zero Trust provides a foundation for creating a stronger security posture in 2024. By Navneet Singh, vice president of marketing, network security, Palo Alto Networks Dec 05, 2023 6 mins Security brandpost Sponsored by AWS in collaboration with IBM How digital twin technology is changing complex industrial processes forever As the use cases for digital twins proliferate, it is becoming clear that data-driven enterprises with a track record of innovation stand the best chance of success. By Laura McEwan Dec 05, 2023 4 mins Digital Transformation brandpost Sponsored by AWS in collaboration with IBM Why modernising applications needs to be a ‘must’ for businesses seeking growth Around one-third of enterprises are spending heavily on application modernisation and aiming for cloud native status. The implications for corporate culture, structure and priorities will be profound. By Laura McEwan Dec 05, 2023 5 mins Digital Transformation opinion 11 ways to reduce your IT costs now Reorienting IT’s budget toward future opportunities is a big reason why CIOs should review their IT portfolios with an eye toward curbing unnecessary spending and realizing maximum value from every IT investment. By Stephanie Overby Dec 05, 2023 11 mins Budget Cloud Management IT Governance 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