The ACT government's efforts to improve its digital technology strategic planning have been ineffective, an audit report has found.
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The audit said 20 per cent of the ACT's 55 information and communications technology systems that are considered critical for the government were not fit for purpose.
The audit report, released on Friday afternoon, found problems with a series of government initiatives meant to promote whole-of-government information and communications technology, or ICT, strategic planning.
The audit found that within directorates there was inconsistency around ACT strategic planning processes.
Auditor-General Michael Harris said ACT government initiatives to improve whole-of-government ICT strategic planning have not been effective.
"A key whole-of-government ICT strategic planning document is the ACT Government Digital Strategy 2016-2019, he said.
"It provides a high-level vision statement for ICT for the ACT Government and seeks to bring cohesion to ACT Government directorates' ICT strategic planning 'through a common purpose, language and perspective'.
"However, there is little further information on the practical implications of the ACT Government's vision for ICT, as identified in the Digital Strategy, and how this should be used to inform, or be translated into, directorate-specific ICT strategic planning processes and documents."
While the digital strategy flagged a series of initiatives to promote ICT planning, many were not effective.
ACT Government initiatives to improve whole-of-government ICT strategic planning have not been effective.
- Auditor-General Michael Harris
Those initiatives included cross directorate strategy workshops and self assessment scorecards.
An initiative that tried to document the current state of ICT across the government was found to have been poorly implemented.
The audit said within directorates, the lack of ICT strategic planning made it difficult for each directorate to effectively plan for ICT.
"ICT strategic plans should explicitly link the ICT business unit's activities to organisational goals," it read.
"A review of directorates' ICT strategic planning documentation shows that this was not done effectively.
"While most (but not all) ICT strategic planning documents identified directorate objectives and priorities there was little further information or elaboration as to how ICT strategic objectives contributed to them.
"By not doing so, directorates increase the risk of misalignment between ICT strategic planning and directorate organisational planning."
Mr Harris said there was considerable variability and inconsistency in ACT Government directorates' ICT strategic planning processes.
The audit said an assessment conducted in January across directorates, which focused on ICT systems that were deemed critical for the government, found 20 per cent of the 55 systems were not fit for purpose and needed immediate investment.
A further 20 percent were identified as fitting business needs, but with investment needed in the near future.