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Federal budget 2022 tech spending welcomed
ACS calls on more technology focus as election approaches
29 March 2022 – for immediate release
ACS, the professional association for Australia’s technology sector, has welcomed the Federal government’s commitment to the digital economy in the 2022 Budget while continuing to urge all parties to recognise the IT sector’s importance to the nation’s security and prosperity.
The 2022 ACS Election Platform – a billion dollar plan to boost Australia’s technology sector – released last month, included calls for spending on technology education, training and regional capacities along with boosting support for diversity and small business digital transformation.
ACS’ Election Platform recommended stronger measures to ensure Australia’s cybersecurity and so particularly welcomes the $9.9 billion committed over 10 years to deliver a Resilience, Effects, Defence, Space, Intelligence, Cyber and Enablers package (REDSPICE).
Dr Nick Tate, ACS President, said: “ACS is extremely pleased to see the Federal government has recognised cybersecurity as a key area in Australia’s defence posture.
“Protecting Australia’s digital infrastructure is essential to guaranteeing the nation’s security and keeping our industries and society running, so we welcome the cybersecurity investment.
“We would flag however that Australia needs a skilled workforce to maintain a robust cybersecurity sector and meet the demands of an increasingly digital economy and society.”
Other areas welcomed by ACS included the $3.9 million to support women pursuing career opportunities in Australia’s growing tech workforce along with $9.0 million over 3 years from 2023‑24 to provide continued support to the Future Female Entrepreneurs program.
The $550m Small Business skills and training boost goes some way to meeting ACS’ Election Platform call for increased support to build SME sector’s digital capacity and we hope businesses choose to invest in technology related training programs.
ACS also maintains it is important that the benefits of the digital economy are shared by all Australians and so is pleased to see the $18.6 million allocated over 3 years to establish a pilot program to provide unique digital and data training and employment opportunities for regional Australians.
The $680.6 South East Queensland City Deal enhancing transport and digital infrastructure across the region is also welcome a week after ACS successfully staged its inaugural Queensland Technology Summit in Brisbane last week and prepares to launch the Digital Transformation Regional Roadshows across regional Queensland.
Dr Tate concluded: “Our Election Platform released last month proposed a range of education and training measures to grow our digital workforce and we look forward to exploring these in coming weeks.
“We will be holding a debate in Canberra on 12 April that will look at what Australia’s digital workforce needs in the coming years, and we look forward to hearing the government and opposition’s proposals for growing our technology sector.”
Tickets for 12 April Election Debate are available at the ACS event website (https://www.acs.org.au/cpd-education/event-detail.html?eventId=7010o000002C3JMAA0).
-ENDS-
Director of Corporate Affairs and Public Policy
About Us
ACS is the professional association for Australia’s technology sector and the largest community with 47,000+ members from across business, government and education.
ACS champions the technologies, people and skills critical to Australia’s future, creating value for ACS members, the tech sector and society in four ways:
Community
Our focus is on fostering an innovative and inclusive community that is dedicated to powering positive change through technology.
Capability
We set the standard for assessing, developing and recognising the skills and experience of technology professionals.
Career
We create career pathways to guide technology professionals and ensure Australia has a pipeline of talent with the right skills and knowledge.
Migration
We assess and support skilled technology migrants to address critical skills shortages, improve diversity and enrich Australia’s workforce.
Find out more at: acs.org.au