AIIA News

2010 State iAwards Winners Announced!

The cream of Australia's ICT talent has now been announced, with winners from across Australia now vying for National iAwards honours at the 2010 National iAwards Gala Dinner and Awards Ceremony.

Find out who will be representing your State! Don't forget to book your tickets now for the National Awards ceremony, where you can rub shoulders with the ICT industry's most influential figures and find out who will represent Australia at this year's Asia Pacific ICT Alliance Awards.

AIIA welcomes the new Prime Minister

AIIA has welcomed the historic announcement that The Hon Julia Gillard MP has been elected as the first ever female Prime Minister of Australia. AIIA also congratulated The Hon Wayne Swan MP on being elected as Deputy Prime Minister. AIIA is currently compliling a list of outcomes being sought through the forthcoming election; if you would like to be involved, please contact AIIA General Manager, Government and Policy Relations Loretta Johnson. READ MORE

Minister Conroy to Address AIIA members on NBN/Digital Economy
(29 July, Melbourne)

The Minister for Communications, Broadband and the Digital Economy will attend an AIIA Members’ event in Melbourne on 29 July at noon to update the industry and stakeholders on progress with the NBN rollout and the increasing need for business to exploit the potential for productivity growth offered by the Digital Economy. A panel of speakers will join the Minister. REGISTER NOW

Anna Bligh MP, Premier of Queensland to address AIIA event
(22 July, Brisbane)

Join us on 22 July to hear directly from the Queensland Premier about Government plans for information technology in the future of the State. The last AIIA industry luncheon to host Anna Bligh, MP sold out quickly - don't miss out! REGISTER NOW

New Green IT cluster launched with support of Victorian Government

Australia's first Green Information Technology (IT) industry cluster was launched at an AIIA briefing last week with the support of the Victorian Government. The GreenIT Cluster has received a commitment of $100,000 in funding from the Victorian Government to assist it in establishing its operations and activities. The cluster will be auspiced by the AIIA. READ MORE

e-Health - Healthcare Identifiers Bill 2010 passed

Federal Parliament recently passed the Healthcare Identifiers Bill 2010; The Act came into operation on 1 July 2010. AIIA welcomes the passing of this significant Bill. This is a major step forward in the development of e-health for Australia and for all Australians. Trustworthy information is vital to achieving better health outcomes, and healthcare identifiers will improve the management and communication of health information for healthcare delivery and outcomes. International experience shows clear evidence of the scale of benefits available if Australia is to implement a national e-health reform program. READ MORE

AGIMO blog now online

The Australian Government Information Management Office (AGIMO) has launched the AGIMO blog to focus on issues across government and the ICT inudustry.AGIMO will use the blog to highlight work being conducted across a variety of areas, including Government 2.0, ICT vision and strategy, website policy and coordinated procurement. The AGIMO blog is being positioned as a place for vigorous discussion on a range of government ICT issues - they welcome and encourage you to share your thoughts and comments on AGIMO’s work.

R&D

The proposed changes to the R&D Tax scheme did not pass through the Senate as planned in June 2010. At this stage it seems unlikely that the bill will provide changes from July 1, 2010 as originally stated although there is prior precedent that tax legislation can be back-dated so this still remains a possibility.

eWaste update

The ICT industry is now seeing the fruit of nearly a decade’s work dedicated to establishing responsible computer take-back and recycling schemes based on a partnership between our industry, government at every level, and the wider community. READ MORE

National ICT Careers' Week: 26 July to 1 August

National ICT Careers weeks aims to promote the benefits of our industry to the next generation of employees. With demand continuing to outpace supply, the opportunities for today's ICT students will be almost unlimited! The past 20 years have seen long-term growth in employment in ICT occupations with an increase in employment of 112 500 in the past decade. In February 2010, approximately 430 200 workers were employed in ICT occupations, representing 4.0 per cent of the total Australian workforce.

This is your chance to get involved and influence the future of the technology sector in Australia The Week will run from 26 July to 1 August 2010, with over 70 organisations hosting events and activities promoting the benefits of post-school ICT studies for school students, and the rewarding and dynamic nature of ICT careers. READ MORE

Industry news

Better Network Services Group

Microsoft Certified Partners for over 15 years, BNS is focused on the design and manufacture of commercial software products for secure Fax and SMS messaging. FIND OUT MORE

Know it all? Prove it with Starlight!

Starlight invites you to the ICT charity event of the year – the IT Fund for Kids 'Know IT All' Dinner (Melbourne Grand Hyatt September23, Sydney Hilton Hotel  September 30).  It’s a unique evening where industry leaders compete in a series of team brain teasers to ascertain which company is the ultimate 'Know IT All'.  It’ll also be a celebration of the ICT industry's 10 year commitment to helping seriously ill children.  For more information email us or visit our website.  READ MORE

DBCDE issues new tender for technology vendor panel

The Department of Broadband, Communication and the Digital Economy has put out a tender titled ‘Establishment of Technology Advice Panel’ to update the existing panel, set up in 2007. AusTender describes the required specialisations as ‘ICT Industry Research and Analysis’, ‘Technology Solution and Implementation Advice’, and ‘Testing, Measurement, Compliance Assessments and Advice’.  The closing date is 5 July 2010, with the panel expected to be finalised mid-August.

Whole-of-Government procurement arrangements for Major Office Machines - information session 25 June, Canberra

The Department of Finance and Deregulation, on behalf of the Australian Government, is preparing to establish Whole of Government procurement arrangements for Major Office Machines. Finance is currently preparing to approach the market, which is anticipated to occur in mid July 2010. READ MORE

Executive Certificate in Business Leadership (Information Industry)

The Executive Certificate in Business Leadership (Information Industry) delivers a postgraduate level qualification, leadership skills and practical career training designed specifically for today’s Information and Communication Technology professionals.

The Executive Certificate in Business Leadership provides a basis for dealing with leadership challenges by formulating and implementing short, medium and long term competitive business strategies that provide assurances to investors, customers, suppliers, bankers, analysts, and employees that the business is being led in the right direction. DOWNLOAD APPLICATION AND ENROLMENT DETAILS (PDF 2MB)

Victorian ICT Plan: public consultation opens

Victorians are invited to join online discussions about the issues and topics that will form part of Victoria’s next ICT plan. Multimedia Victoria is working on a review of the Victorian Government ICT Industry Plan 2005-2010 and development of a new plan. As part of this, the agency has set up an ICT Plan Blog for online consultation and discussion and will be regularly posting on issues regarding the ICT industry, technology trends, adoption and use of ICT and next-generation broadband. READ MORE
 

Contribute to your Industry's Future: Seeking Company or Gov’t-based Projects for University Students (QUT, UQ, USQ, USYDNEY)

The CEED Program Qld links clients with final year Undergraduate and Masters level University students, from 4 Universities (QUT, Uni of Queensland, Uni of Southern Qld, Uni of Sydney).  Students work with their company hosts, to complete ‘real world’ research, development and improvement projects.  CEED projects form part of the students’ degree – they receive academic credit, and the project results are assessed by their University. READ MORE

Members’ news

South Pacific eWaste workshop (21 July, Brisbane)

eWaste 2010 will identify the major challenges and strategies associated with environmentally sound eWaste managemnet in the South Pacific Region. The workshiop will develop a synthesis of the exisitng situation and discuss suitable approaches to deal with the challenges ahead. FIND OUT MORE

Telecommunications Technologies' Mission to China - apply by 29 July

Join this ground-breaking trade mission to China, led by AIIA in partnership with Austrade and proudly supported by the Committee of Marketing ICT for Australia (CoMICTA) and Telstra International. The mission incorporates the Shanghai World Expo 2010. FIND OUT MORE

Collaboration Through Cross Border Partnerships To Go Global (Sydney, Melbourne 3 & 5 August)

Innovative Sourcing Services As The Next Growth Impetus -Interested in exploring new partnerships between Australian and Malaysian services/solutions providers? Australian companies are invited to join leading Malaysian companies with the goal of tapping  higher expertise and resources between the vendors of the 2 countries, and to collectively target a third party location for businesses.READ MORE & REGISTER ONLINE

Members' services

Grant Thornton offer 10% discount to AIIA members

Grant Thornton offers a minimum 10% discount off all Accounting, Audit, Tax & Advisory services to AIIA Members. If you are seeking:

• An auditor
• Tax advice
• Financial strategy for your business
• A financial health check
• Succession planning or ownership structure
• Advice to protect the value in your business, or
• Debt and banking support.

Then you should contact Grant Thornton via AIIA.biz. Grant Thornton Australia is one of Australia's leading accounting, tax and business advisory firms dedicated to serving the needs of privately held business and public interest entities. We offer a full range of assurance, taxation, reorganisation / reconstruction, corporate advisory, wealth investment management, risk management and specialist Business & Owner advisory services. In Australia Grant Thornton has offices in Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney, presently this includes 100 Partners and over 800 staff.