Wheels go round again at NSW tech department

The NSW government’s lead technology agency has a new name, a new boss and and a new status thanks to the second round of machinery of government changes introduced by premier Mike Baird.

With a new mandate under his belt thanks to a March 28 election win, Baird has made adjustments to the public sector following the minor restructure he initiated upon taking over the state leadership in April 2014.

The state’s lead agency for technology matters, the Office of Finance and Services, has once again been hit with new reforms which effectively reverse the April 2014 changes.

Last year the former Department of Finance and Services was merged into the Treasury, leaving former secretary and government CIO Laurie Glanfield subsequently out of a job.

Come 1 July 2015, the OFS will be taken back out of Treasury and once again promoted to the status of a standalone department.

It will then be known as the Department of Finance, Services and Innovation.

The name change will not do much to boots on the ground, with only a small number of staff from the Department of Planning and Environment due to be transferred into the ‘new’ entity.

OFS chief Simon Smith will leave the organisation by July for a new appointment as secretary of the Department of Industry, Skills and Regional Development, after just a few months in the OFS role.

The NSW government will now commence recruitment to fill the role of secretary for the Department of Finance, Services and Innovation, while also hunting out new candidates to become secretary of the NSW Treasury and secretary of the Department of Transport.