To maintain communications to and from Australian missions overseas and to improve the service through implementation of ADCNET.
ADCNET was originally approved by Cabinet in 1989 as a project to replace the equipment in Canberra and posts which provided communications services for cables, also for telephone and data transmission to some posts. This narrow focus led to the name ‘Australian Diplomatic Communications Network’ and hence the acronym ADCNET. Because this was ‘merely’ replacement of existing systems, the capital funding ($67 million) which was approved was not subject to significant offsetting savings.
As recommended by the Acquisition Council which recommended the project to Cabinet, the Department decided to extend ADCNET to provide desktop equipment for all DFAT officers and attached staff who need to have regular access to classified information. This extension, termed ‘ADCNET stage 2’ was estimated to cost about $26 million, of which about $20 million must be provided from the Department’s funding base.
Stage 2 was defined as providing the tools required by officers engaged primarily on policy-related work, including drafting of documents of various kinds, sending and receiving formal documents (cables, teleminutes), informal communication with other officers (electronic mail) and means to search a database of formal documents. It was decided that officers should not need to use two different terminals for most of their classified and unclassified work, necessitating linkages between ADCNET and external networks which serve users who send and receive unclassified cables and electronic mail.
The Department made two key decisions concerning the ADCNET implementation schedule. It was recognised that the development of software and the deployment of systems throughout DFAT Canberra and posts (including installation and user training) would both be lengthy undertakings. In order to minimise the overall schedule, the Systems Policy Committee decided:
1. That the use of ADCNET by officers other than Communications staff (stage 2) should proceed in parallel with the deployment of new communications systems, rather than commencing at the end of stage 1; and
2. that the software should be developed as a series of releases, early releases being installed and used as soon as possible even though they would provide only a part of the required functionality.
Systems currently deployed use ‘release 1’ of the software. This provides word processing, spreadsheet and graphics functions for the creation of ‘complex documents’ (containing tables, graphs and diagrams as well as text), facilities for sending and receiving cables and facilities for electronic mail to other users of ADCNET and to secure PC and NGen computers in Canberra.
Electronic dissemination and retrieval of cables is rudimentary in this initial release, other document types are not supported (except that they may be drafted using the word processor) and the directory of users (to allow addressing of mail etc.) and connection to external networks are very limited.
By June 1994, ADCNET systems had been installed at 37 posts and one division in Canberra, with plans in place to install a further 20 posts and the bulk of the Canberra divisions in 1994-95. Network Services facilities were available to all ADCNET posts and access had also been provided to other government agencies represented at posts.
Achievement of the sub-program’s objectives has been assessed according to the following criteria:
Communications security;
User acceptance and level of use;
Cost-efficiency;
Timely response to user requirements and technical needs; and
Maintenance of installation schedules.