WA Police scores millions for cloud migration, IT upgrades

WA Police has scored $10.2 million in this year’s state budget to begin its transition to the cloud as part of the government’s transformed IT buying regime GovNext.

The long-awaited capital funding injection in 2019-20 will allow the force to transition from an owner-operated IT model to a consumption-based approach.

WA Police has positioned itself for a consumption model since at least 2014, but until now has been hamstrung by cost, according to last year’s audit into the program.

The force said in its recent annual report that shifting to GovNext-ICT would provide “enhanced security, flexibility, scalability and agility required to deliver modern digitally enabled services”.

Just over $12 million has also been provided for the next stage of the force’s ICT optimisation program between 2022-24, which builds on funding brought forward in last year’s budget.

Both funding injections are on top of the $34.6 million provided for the force’s to deploy 3500 mobile devices to frontline officers across the state from next month.

The ‘digital policing - mobility’ initiative, announced last week, will allow officers to perform  identity checks and record statements on-the-go using a range of policing applications

The budget also provides $26 million for the Department of Finance’s digital transformation initiative, which will “further support and develop digital service delivery” following the completion of its revenue systems consolidation and enhancement program.

"The [digital transformation] program will ensure the ongoing sustainability of State Revenue’s core internal systems, achieve greater equity and compliance for taxpayers and ensure more efficient administration of revenue laws and grants and subsidy schemes," budget papers state.

Finance and the Department of Premier and Cabinet have also been handed $2.4 million to begin consolidating public-facing transactional services like licensing through a one-stop shop called ServiceWA.

“This new way of delivering services will be piloted as ServiceWA in Bunbury, along with online services,” budget documents state.

Elsewhere in the budget, the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development has received $12.2 million over two years to integrate and update its core business systems.

This includes the department’s finance management system ($4.7), human resources management system ($4.1 million) and electronic document and records management system ($3.4 million).

The upgrade was highlighted following the amalgamation of the former Department of Agriculture and Food, Fisheries, Regional Development, as well as nine regional development commissions.

“The upgrading of the Department’s core business systems was identified as a critical component in delivering Machinery of Government efficiencies and to becoming a fully amalgamated agency.”

Other measures funded in the budget for 2019-20 include:

• $40 million for Fiona Stanley Hospital to replace critical IT equipment
• $34.7 million provided to DPC over the next four years for its Office of Digital Government to continue the state’s digital reform agenda beyond July
• $22 million for computer hardware and software at the Department of Communities over four years
• $15.5 million for the Lotteries Commission to develop new and existing business operating systems, maintain IT infrastructure environments and invest in IT security measures
• $10.2 million for the Gold Corporation to upgrade its enterprise resource planning system and e-commerce systems
• $5.2 million in 2018-19 for the Department of Finance to transition to GovNext
• $1.5 million for the Department of Justice to update the State Administrative Tribunal’s online case management system for strata dispute resolutions