Department of Infrastructure – Asset Management System Project cont… Project Management The level of project management experience possessed by the project team in areas such as planning, organising and controlling what is a large and complex IT project was limited. This was compounded by an inadequate number of staff who were allocated to the project by client Agencies (and the inappropriateness of some those who were allocated). The effect of resourcing levels upon the project appears not to have been highlighted sufficiently with the result that client Agency managers did not give the issue adequate attention. Vendor Management The relationship and the level of trust between the NTG and the SI with respect to this project appeared strained during the project (as reported in previous audits and reviews of the AMS project) and did not appear to improve until late in the project’s life. There was an inability on the part of the SI to provide the level of leadership and expertise the NTG might reasonably have expected and the SI did not appear to have the capability or the capacity to deliver the proposed solution in the Northern Territory. At the same time, there was no evidence of an effective vendor management plan. Implementation Strategy There was no evidence that the project team had considered how the implementation of the system was to be approached and as a consequence that important issued was not placed before the steering committee. For example, one approach might have involved implementation in a single, pilot, Agency with the objective of ensuring that the system met expectations before it was implemented in other Agencies. An alternative approach might have involved the phased implementation of the different modules. Instead the project team appear to have accepted from the outset that all nine SAP modules would be implemented simultaneously across all client Agencies. This was an approach that exposed the project to heightened levels of risk and is an approach that does not appear to have been attempted with other SAP software implementations elsewhere in Australia. In hindsight, the implementation approach which was adopted can be said to have affected the overall success of the project and created additional strain on the limited number of NTG staff who had been made available.
Department of Infrastructure – Asset Management System Project cont… The Department of Infrastructure has commented: The Department agrees and supports all the findings and recommendations contained in the AuditorGeneral's Report pertaining to the Post Implementation Review of the Asset Management System. The audit process has been valuable as a way of highlighting areas for improvement and the findings have provided a reference point for any future projects which may be undertaken. As a matter of priority, all issues and recommended remedial actions contained in the report have been made available to the Remediation Team. This team has been established to develop a roadmap to transition the AMS Program to a 'steady state' status. This comprises: Identifying high priority AMS remediation activities to be achieved by end of financial year; Drafting a recovery plan to ensure AMS functionality is achieved; Formalising the role and responsibilities of the business as usual team who will be responsible for the steady state of the 'whole of government' AMS tool; and To expound the AMS strategic governance framework and an enhanced framework for stakeholder engagement. The planning is expected to be finalised in early April 2013.
National Partnership Agreement on Homelessness cont… In the following table the targets shown are the number of households or individuals that accessed the services available during 2011-12, depending on how the initiative in question is measured. A broad overview of each initiative is contained in Appendix B. A Place to Call Home, Percy Court, Patterson Street and Remote Safe Houses are measured in terms of “households”, while the others, with the exception of YMCA (capital works) and Client Information Management System (a database), are “individuals”. The values reported as actuals may include repeat clients as this data is not required to be excluded. Instances where a person may be a repeat client is the South Terrace Managed Accommodation which provides short to medium term managed accommodation for Indigenous people and families who are visiting to seek medical treatment and the person has to attend several times in one year. 2011-12 Target ^ 2011-12 Actual Variance Homelessness Program A Place to Call Home 24 31 7 Alice Springs Crisis Accommodation 30 21 -9 Case management – Salvation Army Hostel 50 87 37 Development of a Response to Youth Homelessness in Katherine 15 16 1 South Terrace Managed Accommodation 200 12,995 12,795 Palmerston Medium Term Transitional Accommodation 15 104 89 Percy Court Managed and Supported Accommodation in Alice Springs 28 29 1 St Vincent De Paul Society – Extension of Vincentcare 20 24 4 Supported Accommodation 36 37 1 YMCA Doctor’s Gully Hostel Refurbishment # n/a n/a n/a Alice Springs Youth Streetwork Outreach 56 2,556 2,500 Assistance for People Leaving Correctional Services 80 149 69
National Partnership Agreement on Homelessness cont… 2011-12 Actual ^ Indigenous Disaggregation % ^ Actual number of Indigenous assisted Homelessness Program continued Palmerston Youth Homelessness Response 66 unknown unknown Transitional Aftercare Service in Darwin 24 50% 12 Client Information Management Services 1 unknown unknown Patterson St Domestic Violence and Transitional Accommodation in Darwin 19 100% 19 Remote Safe Houses * 82 100% 82 Intervention and Case Management Services 5,648 100% 5,648 Youth Development Crisis Accommodation – Tennant Creek 22 100% 22 Domestic and Family Violence Support ~ 1,113 unknown unknown Tenancy Sustainability Program 1,396 83% 1,159 Young People Leaving Care 35 unknown unknown Total 24,455 20,103 Source: 2011-12 Annual Report ^ The 2011-12 actual results and indigenous disaggregation percentages were taken from the 2011-12 NTHIP Annual Report. # The YMCA Doctor's Gully Hostel Refurbishment was completed in 2010-11. * Remote Safe Houses target is based on households, which equated to 333 individuals assisted in 2011-12. ~ The value shown of 1,113 is for the six month period July to December 2011 as full year numbers were not available from the Specialist Homelessness Services Collection at the time of the audit. These figures have been subsequently released and the Territory has exceeded the target for the 2011-12 year with 1,694 individuals accessing services.
National Partnership Agreement on Homelessness cont… APPENDIX B Homelessness Programs funded in the Northern Territory under the NPAH Homelessness Program Program Location / Region A Place to Call Home Consists of two components: Program participants are housed and supported for a 12 month period in a public housing dwelling. Once the intensive support period concludes, clients will remain in the dwelling and the tenancy will transition into public housing, with support continued to be made available through programs such as the Tenancy Sustainability Program. Funding for the construction of an additional 32 public housing dwellings over five years. Darwin, Katherine and Alice Springs Alice Springs Crisis Accommodation Provides short term housing and life skills training for people receiving mental health treatment. Alice Springs Case management – Salvation Army Hostel Provides case management to clients who cycle through homelessness at the Red Shield Hostel and outreach services. Darwin Development of a Response to Youth Homelessness in Katherine Provides crisis and short-term supported accommodation and coordinates a range of services for young people. Katherine South Terrace Managed Accommodation Provides short to medium term managed accommodation for Indigenous people and families who are visiting to seek medical treatment or to address other essential needs. Alice Springs Palmerston Medium Term Transitional Accommodation Provides medium to long term transitional accommodation and case management services to young people aged 15 to 19 years. Known as the Youth Housing Options and Pathways Program. Palmerston