Prodata Solutions sues SAFECOM, SMS Consulting over claims govt agency ‘unlawfully handed secret information to supplier’s rival firm’

Taxpayers face a multimillion-dollar lawsuit over a critical emergency services IT system — amid fears its rollout has left authorities inadequately prepared for bushfire season.

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Taxpayers face a multimillion-dollar lawsuit over a critical emergency services IT system, amid fears its rollout has left authorities inadequately prepared for bushfire season.

Adelaide company Prodata Solutions Pty Ltd is suing the South Australian Fire and Emergency Services Commission (SAFECOM) and a rival business in the Federal Court for breach of copyright.

It wants aggravated damages, understood to be several million dollars, over allegations SAFECOM disclosed confidential information on its bespoke IT system to the supplier’s rival, SMS Consulting Group Ltd, during a tender process.

SAFECOM, the $319 million-a-year agency that controls the metropolitan and country fire services and the State Emergency Service, has switched from Prodata’s system to one created by SMS Consulting under a new contract.

Both SMS Consulting and SAFECOM, whose function is under review by the State Government, deny the claims.

As a costly trial looms, internal tensions have emerged over problems with the new IT system’s rollout.

Multiple volunteers have expressed concerns they are being forced to work with a “piecemeal” system mixing electronic and paper records, no longer having information “at our fingertips”.

As a result, they have “significant fears” volunteer safety will be compromised.

Senior government sources have denied the system’s “phased” rollout was compromising operational work or that officials were underprepared, though they conceded not all “functions” are available yet.

Internal government documents obtained by The Advertiser state that at least 200 “items” in the new system, dubbed Project Boomer, require “enhancement”.

The $540,000-a-year system stores data on volunteers, personnel details, training, incident records, police checks and investigations.

A December 21 update on the system, not sent to volunteers until last week, acknowledged “not everything will be perfect from the start” but “critical business needs” were being met. The legal dispute centres on the SAFECOM’s alleged actions after it stopped using Prodata’s $600,000-a-year system, ESOTAS.

Court documents assert that in August 2017, SMS Consulting was unlawfully granted “high-level access” to Prodata’s commercially sensitive and “valuable” computer coding.

In its statement of defence, SAFECOM states it kept Prodata’s information confidential while legally tendering for a new system.

Outside court, Prodata’s managing director David Tarcisius Mifsud, 57, of Sellicks Beach, said the past year had been “extremely traumatic, costly and stressful”, and he was in a “classic David and Goliath battle” to protect the business he spent 25 years building.

Emergency Services Minister Corey Wingard would not comment on the case, which returns to court in April, but said his “very clear expectation” was the IT system would not affect services.