MEDIA RELEASE
An article in the Sun-Herald of 29 October concerning the Australian
Diplomatic Communications Network (ADCNET) contained fundamental errors that
might have been prevented if the Department had been consulted in its
preparation.
ADCNET was leading edge technology at the commencement of its deployment in
1993. It remains in place today as a key element of the Government's
Diplomatic Communications Network, including at 61 embassies, high commissions
and consulates.
A 1998 ANAO audit of the management of the ADCNET project accepted that
ADCNET had delivered the benefits and functionality expected by the Department
of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The results of a recent Foreign and Trade
Ministry Best Practice Review, which benchmarked the efficiency of DFAT
services compared to seven other comparable countries, concluded that DFAT is
still ahead of most of the other ministries it surveyed in its provision of a
wide range of IT applications to staff.
The industry standard is that IT systems are replaced every three to five
years. The fact thatADCNET is likely to enjoy an operational life
of around 10 years before it is phased out underlines both the value-for-money
it has delivered and its operational robustness.
The claim in the article that the project budget blew out is incorrect.
The ANAO report accepted that ADCNET had been implemented within the funding
levels agreed with the then Department of Finance, although it had been
subject to some slippage in the time-lines of some products.
ADCNET was successful in delivering significant productivity savings to the
Department. It had been planned that 50 staff positions could be
withdrawn from overseas as a result of ADCNET but, in fact, these targets were
exceeded with 62 positions withdrawn.
The Department has begun implementation of a new communications system to
replace ADCNET known as SATIN (Secure Australian Telecommunications and
Information Network) which has been deployed in Canberra and will be
introduced progressively to overseas missions. Like ADCNET, it will provide a
secure network for encrypted government communications with overseas posts.
The development of SATIN does not reflect any dissatisfaction with ADCNET
but the reality that, over time, all IT systems become obsolete and need to be
replaced. SATIN will utilise commercially available software and
standard hardware systems that were not available with the required level of
security at the time of the development of ADCNET.
Media contact:
Matt Francis (02) 6261 1555