Government buys thousands of iPads for G20 summit and Centrelink

THE Abbott Government has spent over $700,000 in new iPads and other devices over the past year for public servants.

THE Abbott government has caught the tablet bug and gone on an iPad and Android buying binge over the past 12 months.

More than 1000 tablets have been bought for tasks ranging from hosting a global summit to managing queues at welfare offices.

And some departments are using new tablets to educate consumers into the hard fact that as public service numbers fall, more and more services and information are best accessed online.

Departments have spent a total of about $756,000 on new computers, primarily mobile devices, an analysis of government tendering contracts shows.

Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove’s office ($19,600) and the Department of Defence ($16,700) are among the public service outposts to spend thousands of dollars on new computers.

Some of the purchases are responses to one-off situations.

The Department of Finance has made at least five bulk purchases of notebooks and related devices for a total cost of around $203,000. Most of the procurements were for use in the series of G20 meetings, culminating in a leaders’ summit in November, which Australia is hosting.

Some of the spending is related to attempts to improve service to the public.

The single biggest order has been from the Department of Human Services and was worth $240,000 and involved 250 iPad minis and cases.

iPads have been purchased for staff at Centrelink offices to help triage queues.

They will be used by frontline staff at service centres public offices to manage queues — a form of triage. A small number will be used by outreach and community based workers to undertake education, and to teach customers about the department’s online services.

The Tax Office spent $68,500 on tablets as part of its MDM (Master Data Management) program to strengthen its digital security.

Labor’s waste watch committee chairman Pat Conroy believes the money could be better spent elsewhere.

“Spending over $750,000 on iPads at a time when it is cutting pensions and family payments demonstrates that this Government’s priorities are all wrong,” said Mr Conroy.

“The money wasted on these iPad could pay the GP co-payment for 100,000 pensioner visits to a doctor.”

But it’s possible the purchases will continue as more services, and more office business, is done on mobile devices.

The Department of Immigration has spent a total of $118,500 on iPads listed in the tender documents as “office and desk accessories” and “notebook computers”.

Other purchases include $15,000 on 20 iPads for the Australian Securities and Investments Commission; $16,580 by the Department of Industry; and $15,350 by the Fair Work Ombudsman.

Originally published as Government buys thousands of iPads for G20 summit and Centrelink