NSW ServiceFirst to outsource to Infosys, Unisys

An Infosys and Unisys-led consortium has been down-selected to take over the services currently provided by NSW Government shared services provider ServiceFirst.

Finance and Services Minister Dominic Perrottet today said the state had developed a memorandum of understanding with the vendors - which it plans to sign before Christmas - as the basis for further discussions on the final contract arrangements.

“By establishing the MOU we are committed to working with the organisations to explore options for how they could soon provide services for government agencies," he said in a statement.

“The establishment of a memorandum of understanding provides a certainty to clients, as well as staff, as it creates a clear pathway for the future transition of services next year."

The state government plans to finalise the final deal with the pair in April 2015.

A spokesman for the minister could not provide any detail on what portion of the services to be provided may be delivered from Indian multinational Infosys’ offshore sites.

Perrottet’s predecessor Andrew Constance publicly unveiled the government’s plans to outsource the ServiceFirst scope of work in March this year. The government formally opened registrations of interest the following month.

Established in 2008, the agency provides HR, IT, finance, payroll and other back office corporate services to a bundle of mid-sized NSW government bodies, such as those within the Department of Premier and Cabinet cluster and the NSW Treasury cluster.

It employs roughly 350 staff.

Perrottet said the outsourcing drive was aimed at giving government “flexibility and choice” to adopt modern technologies.

“Once we transition to the new delivery model it is hoped that there will be greater consistency for shared services across the sector, as the new service providers will have performance and delivery benchmarks built into their contracts,” he said.