Gov looks to salvage $1.5bn business register consolidation

The government has commissioned a review of a major project consolidating “over 30” business registers that it had previously warned faced a $1 billion funding black hole.

Minister for financial services Stephen Jones announced the “independent review” yesterday along with the terms of reference.

The project is replacing the 30-year-old Australian Business Register and 31 other registers with a single platform operated by a new one-stop service called Australian Business Registry Services.

It was backed with an initial $500 million - and more recently an extra $166 million lifeline -  but the total cost is expected to run to $1.5 billion. 

The project is also operating on a time extension after initial deadlines were missed.

Jones said in a statement that the government is “prioritising completion of this critical program, transparently and responsibly.”

It hopes the review will “deliver a comprehensive understanding of the current state of the program and provide recommendations for changes, improvements and strategies to best position it to achieve its intended objectives.”

The terms of reference state that the review will examine drivers behind the cost blowout, and analyse the intended delivery schedule.

The government is also wanting recommendations on improvements or “alternative approaches to design and delivery that will reduce cost, accelerate delivery and/or improve governance and management of the program.”

This may include “improvements or changes to IT solutions” used for the program.

Accenture and New Zealand-based registry software specialist Foster Moore have so far picked up the majority of the work.