Archived News for IT Professionals

Skills shortages are continuing to have a significant impact on business performance in New South Wales, according to the recently released NSW Business Chamber - Commonwealth Bank Business Conditions Survey for the March 2011 quarter.

The survey found that as employment in NSW rises to a record level and with unemployment falling, 46.8% of businesses indicate they have a skills shortage. This represents a significant increase from November 2010, when 39% of businesses reported skills shortages.

Skills shortages have been reported across major industry sectors, with particular demand in occupations Including construction trades, technicians (e.g. refrigeration and air conditioning), metal trades, engineers, accountants, ICT professionals, health and community support services, sales and marketing, professional, scientific and technical services.

Convergence Review Committee finalised

The three-person Convergence Review Committee, which will undertake a review of Australia’s media and communications regulatory framework, has been finalised with the appointment of Louise McElvogue, founding partner of Macleod Media.

KANZ Broadband Summit being held this week

The Federal Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy, will host the Korea-Australia-New Zealand (KANZ) Broadband Summit in Hobart this week, together with the Chairman of the Korea Communications Commission and the New Zealand Minister for Communications and Information Technology.

Defence boosts internet services

The Department Defence has signed an industry contract with Verizon Business to provide high level and high speed internet services to industry, government, service personnel, employees and the public.

NICTA technology recognised in top ten

Formal code verification technology developed at National ICT Australia (NICTA) has been included in MIT Technology Review’s 2011 TR10, an annual list of the world’s ten most important emerging technologies.

Each TR10 winner is drawn from the editors’ coverage of key fields, and is based on a single question: is the technology likely to change the world? These innovations — each represented by a researcher whose vision and work is driving the field — promise fundamental shifts in areas from energy to health care, computing to communications.

New software aids reliable power supply

Materials engineering specialists at the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) have developed a new software program designed to help coal-fired power stations improve their efficiency and sustain a reliable output.

UN backs NBN network

The leading UN telecommunications official has thrown his support behind Australia's national broadband network, arguing it could make the nation a world leader, according to Fairfax Media reports.

Tasmanian Government tenders for $17 million ICT contract

The Tasmanian Treasury has issued a request for tenders for a contract estimated to be worth more than $17 million a year for the supply of ICT hardward and support services for Tasmanian government agencies across the state.

Strategic ICT Vision for Federal Government released

The Federal Department of Finance and Deregulation has published the draft of Strategic Vision for the Australian Government’s use of information and communications technology.

Telstra calls on businesses to outsource core ICT functions

Telstra chief technology officer, Hugh Bradlow, has called on businesses to outsource their core ICT functions to specialised companies, including Cloud operators, in order to get with the 21st century.

Australia lags in global network readiness index

Australia has been ranked number one in the world for the time it takes to start a business, although it has been marked down for its approach to ICT and the availability of new technologies.

NBN training facility for Tasmania

The Tasmanian Government is providing funding to Aurora Energy to establish a new NBN training facility that will provide training for specialist skills arising out of the NBN infrastructure development.

Banks spend up on IT

Three major banks - the Commonwealth, the National Australia Bank and Westpac - are investing more than $4 billion in their IT systems to improve service delivery through new technologies including mobile phones and tablets, according to an article in this morning’s Australian Financial Review.

NBN Co signs up RSPs for trials

NBN Co has signed up the first 12 retail service providers (RSPs) to participate in end-user trials across the five first release sites on the Australian mainland.

Consumers guide to the NBN released

The Internet Society of Australia (ISOC-AU) and the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) have launched a guide for consumers to the National Broadband Network.

Victorian company wins NBN network software contract

The National Broadband Network (NBN) Co has signed a contract with Victorian ICT company SPATIALinfo to supply software to manage the fibre-to-the-home physical network infrastructure for the rollout of the NBN.

Inquiry finds Government should "justify" snooping

The Federal Government should justify why mandatory collection and retention of personal data is necessary for law enforcement, a senate report into online privacy has found.

Second Wave e-health care groups identified

The Australian Government has announced nine Second Wave sites for the implementation of its $467 million national Personally Controlled Electronic Health Records (PCEHR) project.

New centre for green telecommunications

A new Centre for Energy Efficient Telecommunications (CEET) has been launched in Melbourne with the focus on innovation in energy efficient networks and telecommunications infrastructure with the aim to reduce the industry's impact on the environment.

Australia's internet subscribers exceed 10 million

Internet subscribers in Australia climbed to 10.4 million in the six months to December 2010, according to a report released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). This is up from 9.5 million in June 2010, which represents a growth of nearly 10% in the last six months.

The number of business and government internet subscribers grew by 26% to 2.3 million, while the number of household internet subscribers grew by 6% to 8.1 million. The growth in both sectors was driven by the continued uptake of mobile wireless broadband connections, which increased by 777,000 ( or 22.5%) to 4.2 million in the six months to 31 December 2010.

At the end of December 2010, there were 8.2 million mobile handset internet subscribers in Australia. The volume of data downloaded via mobile handsets was 4,029 Terabytes.

Further information is available in Internet Activity, Australia (cat. no. 8153.0).