Transforming the Defence Information Environment Through Improved Governance

Air Vice-Marshal Julie Hammer, CIO of Department of Defence (A/g)

11:45 am to 12:30 pm

Air Vice-Marshal Julie Hammer, an electronics engineer, is the most senior woman in the Australian Defence Force (ADF) and is the only woman in the history of the ADF to have achieved "starred" rank. She joined the Royal Australian Air Force in 1977 after completing a BSc (Hons) in Physics at the University of Queensland. She also holds a Masters degree in Aerosystems Engineering and a Graduate Diploma in Strategic Studies. AVM Hammer has served in the fields of aircraft maintenance, technical intelligence, electronic warfare, and command, control, communications and intelligence (C3I) systems acquisition and support and was Commandant of ADFA during 2002 and 2003. AVM Hammer’s awards include a Conspicuous Service Cross and the 2001 Sir Charles Kingsford Smith Memorial Medal which was awarded by the Royal Aeronautical Society to recognise her contribution to Australian aerospace. She is a Fellow of the Institution of Engineers Australia, a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society, a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and was appointed as a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the 2004 Australia Day Honours List.

Defence's Information Environment is one of the underpinning capabilities that enables both warfighting functions, as well as support functions to plan and build our military capabilities, to administer Defence, and to advise and report to Government. Information is used to plan, conduct and monitor operations, to provide intelligence reporting, to train, prepare and reconstitute forces, to provide logistics support and to support most of the other functions performed in Defence. Just as the three Service Chiefs manage the maritime, land and air capabilities, managing information as a capability is a critical imperative for us. The Chief Information Officer is the capability manager of the Defence Information Environment and has the central role in driving its development and management.

Since the early 1990s, Defence has been progressing down a path of improvement through technical and organisational change. More recently, new initiatives have been agreed to improve the governance of the Defence Information Environment by introducing a management framework for strategic planning, approaching information management through a structure of enterprise processes and process owners, and through visibility and coordination of funding arrangements across the Department.

Julie Hammer's Presentation (Powerpoint format 360KB)

See: Department of Defence Website

Main Conference Page

Last Updated: 8 November 2004