Department of Health hires a CIO

Australia's Department of Health and Ageing (DOHA) has appointed Paul Madden as its Chief Information and Knowledge Officer following a four month search.

Madden, an experienced IT practitioner in Canberra circles, will be the first chief information officer to be employed at DOHA in five years.

Madden's tenure begins on December 6, 2010.

He brings to DOHA a number of years of public sector experience managing strategic and technically complex projects.

Madden was involved in the implementation of the Standard Business Reporting (SBR) Program, a significant overhaul in terms of simplifying the means by which Australian businesses interface with Government agencies.

He was also National Program Manager at ATO Business Solutions to support the tax office's 'Whole of Government' strategies.

"I welcome Paul to our Executive team and look forward to working with him," DOHA secretary Jane Halton said in a message to DOHA staff on Friday.

In the absence of a chief information officer, IT strategy at Health was previously the domain of the chief operating officer of DOHA's business group, Margaret Lyons, with the advice and assistance of several third party consultants.

DOHA outsourced its information technology needs to IBM in 2000, renewing its contract with Big Blue in 2008 for a further three years. This agreement is due to expire in mid-2011, but the agency is yet made a decision on how to proceed.