DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES
JOINT STANDING COMMITTEE ON THE NATIONAL DISABILITY
INSURANCE SCHEME
Inquiry into ICT Contracts and Systems for the NDIS
Joint Standing Committee (JSC) Terms of Reference (ToR):
As part of the committee’s role to inquire in the implementation, performance and governance of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), the committee will inquire into and report on the ICT infrastructure employed by the National Disability Agency (NDIA), with particular reference to:
a. participant and provider experiences of the MyPlace Portal; b. the impact of the role of other Government agencies on the ICT infrastructure; c. the appropriateness of the MyPlace Portal and agency facing IT systems; d. the impact of ICT infrastructure on the implementation of NDIS; and e. any other related matters Page 1 of 10
1 Executive Summary
This submission provides an outline of the ICT Infrastructure and Services delivered by the Department of Human Services (the Department) to the National Disability Insurance Agency (the NDIA) on behalf of the Australian Government. It also outlines a range of foundational capabilities that have been, and continue to be, leveraged by the Department to deliver ICT Services to the NDIA.
The Department is the lead service delivery agency within the Australian Government and has an extensive history of delivering high-quality Digital Services that support a broad range of Social Welfare programmes and payments for citizens on behalf of government.
In the 2014/2015 Federal Budget, the Department was allocated funding for the build of ICT Infrastructure and Services to support the NDIA. This established the Department as the Systems Integrator (SI) to the NDIA for both initial capability development and ongoing operational management of ICT Services.
The Department worked collaboratively with the NDIA to undertake ICT Services design and development to support an initial pilot in December 2015, with ICT Full Scheme solution implementation occurring between July 2016 and November 2017.
Given the compressed timeframe to support initial build activities, the Department applied agile development principles and techniques to deliver a Minimal Viable Product (MVP). This approach is consistent with global industry practice.
The system was built and tested to specification and no technical issues were identified with the NDIS system at full scheme launch. The Department participated in a Ministerially appointed independent system review undertaken by Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC) which confirmed that while there were issues with stakeholder engagement, training and preparedness for providers, the Department delivered the ICT Full Scheme solution in line with NDIA’s requirements.
Subsequent to delivery of the MVP, the Department has continued to work with the NDIA on a programme of continuous improvement. This has included a particular focus on enhancing the participant and provider user experience when engaging with the MyPlace Portal.
The Department also provides a range of corporate shared services to the NDIA, including HR and Payroll, end-user computing and information management.
The Department continues to work closely with the NDIA on how the NDIA can leverage an extensive suite of emerging DHS technology capabilities to support realisation of the recently developed NDIA Technology Strategy.
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2 Background
2.1 Foundational Capabilities
The Department’s scale, expertise and suite of foundational ICT platforms and digital capabilities that can be leveraged are substantial.
This section of the submission will outline a range of these capabilities that have been leveraged in the development, delivery and operational management of the NDIA ICT Full Scheme solution. Leveraging these capabilities yields delivery time and financial efficiencies to the Commonwealth.
This section also outlines a range of new and emerging capabilities that can be leveraged by the NDIA into the future to support the realisation of the NDIA Technology Strategy.
2.1.1 A large, skilled, in-house workforce The Department has a large, in-house and highly skilled ICT workforce capable of developing, maintaining and transforming digital services on behalf of government. The workforce includes skills across ICT Infrastructure, Service Operations and Applications Development.
The Department maintains a strong focus on skills development to ensure it staff are trained in the latest technologies. This includes one of the largest SAP-trained workforces in the Asia-Pacific region with over 500 APS staff now holding industry-recognised certifications in this platform.
The availability of a large, skilled, in-house workforce allows the Department to deploy resources as need be to deliver agile and responsive capability development for the NDIA.
2.1.2 ICT Infrastructure and Operations The Department manages ICT Infrastructure hosted in two world-class data centres that provide 24x7 High-Availability systems operation.
Within these data centres, the Department maintains significant ICT capability, including:
Two IBM z13 mainframes, with planning under way to transition to z14s, In excess of 14 petabytes of managed storage, 16,000 processor cores of x86 hardware delivering a “private cloud” compute platform, 1,300 servers hosting in excess of 14,000 virtual servers, An internet gateway that services eight departments/agencies, and A significant network supporting multifunction devices and telecommunications
Additionally, the Department provides 24x7 Service Operations, including a dedicated Networks Operations Centre.
By leveraging the Department’s extensive and mature ICT Infrastructure and Operations capability, the systems availability and performance provided to the NDIA has consistently met or exceeded agreed targets contained in the Service Level Agreement (SLA).
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2.1.3 Secure, Cyber-Resilient Services
The Department takes cyber security very seriously and is constantly evolving and continually reviewing systems security to ensure digital services and information managed by the Department are appropriately protected.
The Whole of Government Protective Security Policy Framework is used to ensure the security of information, information systems, physical assets and people. Systems and policies are developed in accordance with the Framework, which is also supported by the Australian Signals Directorate’s Information Security Manual.
The Department operates a state-of-the-art 24x7 Cyber Security Operations Centre (CSOC) that was established in December 2016. The CSOC works collaboratively with national and international agencies and vendors to ensure operations are in-line with global best practice.
In March 2017 the Australian National Audit Office released its Cyber Security Follow-up
Audit which rated the Department as “cyber resilient” and fully compliant with the Australian Signals Directorate’s Top 4 cyber risk mitigation strategies.
The CSOC has increased the Department’s cyber resilience, improved the ability to respond to cyber incidents and provided the capability to monitor the global cyber threat landscape in a complex and constantly evolving domain.
The digital services, systems and information assets of the NDIA are securely managed and protected by leveraging the best-of-breed cyber-protection provided by the Department.
2.1.4 Strong, Procedural Capability Maturity
The Department has extensive governance arrangements in place to ensure that major ICT enabled programmes and projects are successfully delivered.
Leveraging the Department’s capability maturity in a range of procedural domains, including Portfolio Management, Rick Management and Change Management, has been key to the successful delivery of ICT Services by the Department to the NDIA.
The Department’s well established approach to portfolio, programme and project management is set out in the Portfolio, Programme and Project Management Frameworks and associated supporting guidance for project teams. The suite of material provides guidance and structure for teams to ensure projects are delivered in a structure, efficient and effective way.
The Department undertook a P3M3 Self-Assessment in August 2014 and had level 4 (out of
- maturity ratings for its portfolio management, programme management and project management. The Department anticipates another self-assessment will be undertaken in 2018.
Effective risk management is a core focus of programme and project management in the Department. The Department’s risk management policy and framework are consistent with the international risk management standard AS/NZS ISO 31000:2009 Risk Management: Principles and Guidelines, as well as the Commonwealth Risk Management Policy.
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The Department has well-established change management capability, processes and procedures. All changes to systems and digital services must comply with the Department’s ICT Change Management Policy which ensures that all changes are logged, prioritised, categorised assessed, authorised, planned, scheduled and tested. Rigorous development and testing processes also contain safeguards which provide assurance of the quality of changes that impact NDIA ICT Services.
2.1.5 Established Architectural Patterns and Foundational Components
The Department has well established, mature and disciplined processes in place for ICT Architectural Governance.
The Department maintains a comprehensive suite of robust and proven implementation patterns and foundational components that were leveraged to develop the NDIA ICT Full Scheme solution.
In developing the NDIA ICT Full Scheme solution, the Department used approved architectural patterns and existing foundational capabilities by default. New functionality was only developed where an NDIA-specific business requirement could not be reasonably met by re-using existing capability.
This approach minimised both build time and cost for the NDIA while also ensuring the resulting system will be maintainable, sustainable and extensible into the future.
The Department supports the NDIA Technology Strategy goal of making the NDIA systems more open and accessible to third parties via Application Programming Interfaces (APIs). The Department has considerable capability and experience in this domain with a proven track record of collaborating with private sector software companies who support the Health, Aged Care and Child Care industry sectors.
Leveraging existing Department capability and foundations has also yielded considerable efficiencies to government in the delivery of other recent major initiatives, including the National Redress Scheme, Veteran Centric Reform and the New Child Care Subsidy Scheme.
As the Department proceeds with the Welfare Payment Infrastructure Transformation (WPIT), additional new capability will be delivered that can be leveraged by the NDIA.
2.1.6 DHS Technology Plan 2016-2020 The Department’s Technology Plan 2016-2020 provides a high-level roadmap for the Department to deliver the capabilities it needs for the next five years and beyond.
A primary goal of the Plan is to introduce an improved system of continuous technology planning extending at least five years into the future.
The Department has processes in place to ensure the Plan is reviewed annually as well as to monitor and measure the implementation of the capabilities identified in the Plan.
A range of platforms and objectives from the Plan strongly align with and support the NDIA Technology Strategy. These can be leveraged by the NDIA as they come online and include:
An omni-channel customer interaction that supports access to digital services on any device, from any location at any time
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A circumstance driven customer experience and dynamic, tailored services that meet the needs of the individual Emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence, Digital Assistants and Machine Learning where the Department has rapidly attained maturity as a leader in
Australian Government
An ecosystem of data in which information is accessed in a secure and seamless way based on customer requirements, and An industrialised technology platform that provides a service-centric approach to deliver repeatable, scalable and highly reliable service products that are predesigned and preconfigured solutions to support the NDIA’s Digital Business Platform.
2.1.7 User Centred Design and User-Insights Research Labs
In recent years, the Department has placed a strong focus on the adoption and implementation of User Centred Design. The Department has also appointed a Chief Citizen Experience Officer (CCXO) to ensure the needs of the citizen are placed at the centre of the design process.
The approach and practices implemented by the Department are consistent with global best-practice and the Department is increasingly working directly with end users in designing it digital services.
The Department has also constructed Design Hubs in both Canberra and Brisbane with a User Insight Research facility also constructed in Canberra. An additional User Insight Research facility is currently under construction in Brisbane.
The facilities provide an environment where designers, service users, partner agencies, third parties and others can work together early to create and test solutions quickly. The facilities provide ways for the public to participate more directly in the development of new design ideas.
The Department will continue to work with the NDIA to utilise these facilities and organisational capability in the development of a new NDIA Partner Portal. This will ensure the proposed solution adopts a user-centred design that fully identifies and meets the needs of users by placing them at the centre of the design process.
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2.2 Innovation
2.2.1 Technology Innovation Centre
Recognising that the needs and expectations of both citizens and government for digital services and digital experiences continue to evolve and change at a rapid rate, the Department has placed a significant focus in recent years on technology innovation.
To support this focus, the Department’s Technology Innovation Centre was opened in November 2016.
The Centre is designed to focus on innovation and user experience through live user engagement and immersion. The Department collaborates with the technology sector to undertake regular horizon scans to identify emerging technology with potential for use in service delivery in the short, medium and long term. The Department works with the technology sector to develop showcases of how such technology has the potential to positively disrupt and transform the delivery of government services.
While not available during the initial development of the NDIA core business systems, technologies previously and currently showcased within the Centre are expected to be incorporated into future NDIA ICT Services. This includes:
Conversational Artificial Intelligence Platforms
Voice of Customer Analytics Big Data and advanced Data Visualisation Platforms Machine Learning and Predictive Analytics, and
Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality
Where appropriate, the Department will to work with the NDIA on the incorporation of Voice of Customer Analytics (VoCA) into future NDIA ICT system enhancements.
This capability has been delivered for WPIT and is now available to be leveraged by the NDIA.
Incorporation of VoCA will provide the NDIA with rich insights into the lived experience of the user, both Participants and Providers, in engaging with its digital services. The insights will assist to understand how both business processes and service design may require modification and enhancement to maximise the delivery of positive outcomes for Participants and Providers alike.
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2.3 Systems Availability and Performance Systems availability and performance provided to the NDIA for core business systems and services has consistently met or exceeded defined targets, as set in the Service Level Agreement (SLA).
The Department has worked closely with the NDIA since the ICT Full Scheme launch on the identification, scheduling and delivery of a series of enhancements. In particular, enhancements delivered in 2018 have focused on improving the user experience of both Participants and Providers for the MyPlace Portal.
The Department continues to work with the NDIA on the establishment of additional reporting capabilities to ensure that the NDIA has access to timely and transparent information on the ICT Services the Department provides to the agency.
2.3.1 NDIA Partner Access
The Department recognises that the NDIA encountered issues with the Direct Access solution for NDIA Partners to access core business systems between March 2018 and August 2018.
The degradation of user experience for NDIA Partners using the Direct Access solution was a result of a rapid expansion of usage of the Direct Access solution outside of the Department’s capacity management and planning processes.
The Department responded by rapidly deploying resources to work on both short-term tactical solutions as well as the implementation of a long-term strategic solution. Tactical mitigations deployed in June 2018 provided some relief but did not fully remediate the performance impacts of the expanded user base accessing the Direct Access solution.
By late July 2018, a long-term strategic solution had been deployed to provide significant additional capacity for Direct Access by Partners. The NDIA Partner user base is being progressively transitioned to the strategic Direct Access solution and this work is expected to complete by mid-September 2018.
The Department has worked with the NDIA Office of the CIO (OCIO) to ensure that NDIA business capacity planning has appropriate visibility as part of joint Strategic Governance forums. This will ensure that the Department has access to business capacity projections in a sufficient timeframe to appropriately manage NDIA ICT capacity.
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2.3.2 Systems Availability/Performance -20 August 2018 - 26 August 2018 The following table includes service availability and performance for August 2018 for the NDIA CRM, the Provider Portal, the Participant Portal and the NDIA website.
Availability and performance for August exceeded defined targets set in the SLA.
Service Availability Application Perf.
CRM 100% 96.40%
[www.ndis.gov.au](https://www.ndis.gov.au) 100% 99.10%
Provider Portal 100% 97.60%
Participant Portal 100% 95.40%
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Availability for CRM, Portals & Website for August was 100%, exceeding the SLA of 99.5%.
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The three core NDIS business services (CRM and both Portals) have greater than 95% performance against service response targets
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Following consultation and collaboration with the NDIA, significant changesComments: were implemented since April 2018 to improve Portal application performance
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2.4 Portals Access from 1 January 2018 – 2 September 2018
Participant Portal
Item Qty Comments
Includes individual Participants, and their nominees, that have accessed the Participant Portal at least once. This reflects an increase of 33,011 since
myGOV Users 139,936 April 2018.
Number of times the participant portal was accessed from 1 January 2018 to 2 September 2018 (unique users) eg if the same participant access the portal 5 times this is counted as 1. This reflects an increase of 46,131 since
Recent Access 122,137 April 2018.
Provider Portal
Individual contacts that have access to the Provider Portal. This reflects an
PRODA users 64,234 increase of 11,397 since April 2018.
Number of times the provider portal was accessed from 1 January 2018 to 2 September 2018 (unique users) eg if the same provider accesses the portal 5 times this is counted as 1. This reflects an increase of 10,121 since April
Recent Users 42,979 2018.
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