NSW Health launches shared HR project

NSW Health has issued a request for tender for salary packaging software to be shared by NSW Health Services across the state.

The agency sought to engage a managed service provider to deliver a browser-based salary packaging solution.

No financial details were disclosed.

Under NSW Health's salary packaging policy (pdf), employees could sacrifice part of their salary for "non-cash benefits" such as mortgage repayments and school fees.

Tender documents indicated that more than 60 percent of NSW Health employees had salary sacrifice arrangements.

The new system would replace manual and electronic processes by automatically determining staff eligibility, performing calculations, and reporting.

It would also interact with the agency's human resource systems. As NSW Health planned to migrate from Supero to Oracle human resource information systems, the salary packaging solution had to be compatible with both.

Potential users included public hospitals, health centres, ambulance stations, Justice Health, NSW Department of Health and Cancer Institute.

The successful contractor would lead the implementation, including development, testing, training, user acceptance processes, support, and penetration testing.

Earlier this week, the NSW Government revealed plans to restructure its ICT and shared service operations over the next two years.

A Health Support Services spokesman said the salary packaging tender was separate from upcoming payroll and rostering system upgrades at NSW Health.

"This project will not result in NSW Health employees experiencing payroll issues like those experienced by QLD Health," she said.

The request for tender closed on 6 September, and the project was expected to be completed by 15 January 2011.