Digital Transformation Agency might have had its budget reduced, but its CEO said it has also been asked to do less. The DTA will also get its hands on extra funding to re-sign a whole-of-government contract with SAP.
In the 2021-22 federal Budget, the Digital Transformation Agency (DTA) was shown as having its budget reduced by around AU$90 million. It was the first Budget announced with the DTA back under the care of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet. Appearing before Senate Estimates on Monday night, DTA CEO Randall Brugeaud said the reduction is not exactly AU$90 million in total. « AU$90 million… it mixes our special account with our departmental appropriation and just as with any organisation, we have a series of measures that lapse and a series of measures that are created, » he explained. « The overall reduction of AU$89.409 million is made up of AU$39.388 million in departmental appropriation reduction, but of that, AU$62.2 million relates to lapsing measures, AU$300,000 to reductions though indexation and efficiency dividends, and an addition of AU$23.1 million in new measures. » By his maths, the overall reduction is AU$39.4 million for departmental appropriation and a reduction of AU$55.6 million in the « special account » that he said relates to, firstly, the direct pass through of costs to agencies for telecommunications panels, and secondly, the cessation of the current whole-of-government agreement with SAP.
