Presentation, summary and Q&A by Chris Fechner, Queensland Government Chief Customer and Digital Officer and presentation by Michael Nikolic, Chief Digital Officer, Queensland Correctional Services at the COVID-19 Partners in Technology briefing.

1. Queensland Digital Industry Webcast
Partners in Technology
Queensland Government Chief Customer and Digital
Officer, Chris Fechner
and
Mr Michael Nikolic
Chief Digital Officer
Queensland Corrective Services
7th May 2020

2. Key Messages
Department of Housing and Public Works 2
During the COVID-19 response, the Partners in Technology forum will be used as the key
mechanism for Queensland Government to engage with Queensland’s digital and ICT industry
and to share its key ICT, Digital and Data priorities.
The Queensland Chief Customer and Digital Officer will host fortnightly briefings which will
include a key address and a facilitated Q&A session with participants.
140 people participated in the fourth interactive Partners in Technology webinar which had a
focus on:
• Continued support of the Emergency Procurement Guide & Short form contracts
www.forgov.qld.gov.au/create-ict-contract#emergency
• Total value of the ICT procurement is less than $1m
• Total length of the agreement is 12 months or less
• 5 Agencies have adopted this already
• Does not replace existing arrangements e.g. Contingent Labour
• Significant statistics of Queensland Government COVID19 response:
• Over 200,000 Covid19 related calls to our call centre
• 9000 people supported through care army
• www.covid19.qld.gov.au/ has had approximately 1.5m visits since the end of March
• 180,000 blocked cyber security attacks

3. Key Messages continued
Department of Housing and Public Works 3
Michael Nikolic CDO of Queensland Corrective Services Rapid Modernisation due to COVID19
• QCS Digital Transformation key points:
• Digital Strategy was complete before COVID19 hit and had a focus on modernisation
• QCS presentation is available here www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9iiK4OMak0
• QCS transformation elements were performed over weeks instead of years due to commitment
of senior management
• Organisational appetite for change has accelerated as a result
• Significant procurement occurred over the 3-4 months of transformation
• Events and Briefings: Partners in Technology Webinars (Fortnightly)
• Email: Share questions, ideas, challenges and offers of assistance by emailing
ICTIndustryEngagement@hpw.qld.gov.au
• Online : Queensland Government ICT online resources at:
https://www.business.qld.gov.au/industries/science-it-creative/ict

4. Key Questions and Answers (starts at 21 minutes)
Department of Housing and Public Works 4
Q1: QCS had to rapidly procure during the Covid19 enabled transformation period, are
there any more opportunities that can be discussed today?
A1: Michael: We intend over the next 6 months to accelerate and enhance the
security posture of our business systems. We have a requirement to make data
more available to frontline staff.
 We are still working through the impact on prisoners such as visitation
 Getting better value out of Office 365
 Rapid prototyping through the short form process to demonstrate progress
 Mobility, Security, Geospatial are some specific upcoming challenges
Following the briefing, a facilitated Questions and Answers (Q&A) session was held
with the participants. A summary of the key Q&A’s is provided below

5. Continued
Department of Housing and Public Works 5
Q2: In hindsight what helped QCS respond so quickly to the sudden changes?
A2: Michael: We had just completed our strategic planning so had an overall plan of where we
wanted to be which was key
 Decisive support from the business for this strategy and limited scope for decisions
enabled us to rapidly procure what we needed without an extended decision making
process
Chris: We need to start thinking differently, make things simpler and easier with control and
management at the software level rather than hardware.
Michael: That was part of what I did at QCS, where we moved to software configuration
through end to end provisioning

6. Continued
Department of Housing and Public Works 6
Q3: Do you think that COVID19 has “killed the big bang approach” to change?
A3: Michael: I think that the big bang approach or plan build run will now always be
questioned and challenged as a result of COVID19. I do think that the rapid COVID19
approach is not sustainable for all situations, we did demonstrate that we are capable of
providing results in an incremental approach. I don’t think the big bang approach is ‘dead’
but it is certainly going to be challenged.
Chris: I hope the big bang approach is gone, my real challenge is to look at how we can
deliver value in 3 months, 6 months, 12 months – not to spend 2 years in procurement for a
2 year project. We want to deliver value to citizens and businesses rather than delivering
bureaucracy across government. We still need to keep a level playing field, focus on best
outcomes with money and citizen services. We have to be careful not to let perfect get in
the way of good, we need to achieve outcomes in a time that are useful to people.
Michael: I agree, I’ve asked my own department and ICT group to be more agile and
responsive. We can prototype what is possible and deliver value in an incremental way –
the way we do business in ICT is definitely changing.

7. Continued
Department of Housing and Public Works 7
Q4: Can the emergency contract be used for contingent labour?
A4: Chris: No, it is for goods and services around emergency response.
Mark: The general messaging is that if there an existing
arrangement then that should be used first, with the emergency
contract used for exceptions – for situational advice contact
ICTIndustryEngagement@hpw.qld.gov.au.
Q5: How does QCS’s response compare to similar entities in other
states?
A5: Michael: We paid close attention to the other jurisdictions in
particular for problems we hadn’t reached yet. In some instances
we were ahead of the pack for example video conferencing, in
others we had some catching up to do.

8. Continued
Department of Housing and Public Works 8
Q6: How do concepts such as automation, digital co-workers, intelligent
processes, etc relate to Corrective Services?
A6: Michael: Automation means different things to different people, but the
practical application of automation is at the front of mind. We are looking
at all parts of the business to see where we can get some automation
happening. We are coming from a low base and have some fundamentals
now in place but have work to do to be able to leverage artificial
intelligence.
Chris: Where we used to just use labour for things, they weren’t readily
available due to COVID19 – such as certain aspects of timesheets. It has
made us take a step back and look at things differently. Across the
country the power of insights from good data and good data management
is now being recognised – such as outreach to elderly people through the
care army.
Michael: The COVID19 changes had a huge impact on organisational
mindset and change such as digital signatures and approvals via email. AI
and Data Analytics are also on our roadmap for the next 18 months.

9. Continued
Department of Housing and Public Works 9
Q7: What proportion of your investment was allocated to organisational change
management?
A7: Michael: We didn’t sacrifice the change management in lieu of the
deployment of technology, we had to hire change managers and organisational
change experts to deploy effectively in a very short timeframe. This allowed us to
speed up deployments and used different channels to train staff for example. We
doubled the amount that we normally would have budgeted for change managers
and organisational experts.
Chris: I think what COVID19 has demonstrated to us that if we have urgency and
need, people’s willingness to adapt is increased. There is a strong message of
just good enough at just the right time, and being willing to iterate through
practical use.
Michael: During COVID19 change wasn’t optional and as everyone needed it and
it was crucial to their new way of working and that was a big lesson for change.

10. Continued
Department of Housing and Public Works 10
Q8: How do you see COVID19 impacting the Queensland Government
Roadmap over the next 12-24 months?
A8: Chris: From a macro perspective the cost has been exceptionally
high and has put a great strain on every part of the economy and
government. Internally we will need to be much more efficient and
keep looking at new ways of doing things. We’ll look at streamlining
customer services with a lot more emphasis on knowing our
customers – just like online retail.
Michael: From a QCS perspective our roadmap will be effected but
we cannot allow small thinking small solutions. It will definitely
challenge our roadmap and our thinking.
In closing: Next session will be co-hosted with Damien Green from
Queensland Health, and then after that we’ll be talking with a research
organisation.

11. Email: Share questions, ideas, challenges and offers of assistance by emailing
ICTIndustryEngagement@hpw.qld.gov.au
Online: Queensland Government ICT online resources at:
https://www.business.qld.gov.au/industries/science-it-creative/ict
Short form ICT contract: created especially for COVID-19 response where the value is less than $1m
and duration is less than 12 months https://www.forgov.qld.gov.au/create-ict-contract#emergency
SME Access Incentive: https://www.forgov.qld.gov.au/guidelines-working-smes
Key Links and Contact

12. QCS response to COVID-19 and how it aligns to our future
digital strategy (video)

13. Thank you
Please don’t hesitate to contact me or my office
ICTIndustryEngagement@hpw.qld.gov.au