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ACS News

ACS staff, Information Age

20/04/2005 15:24:09

AIIA throws support behind ACS Foundation

The ACS Foundation has welcomed a strong statement of support from the Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA), which cements the Foundation's position as the leading independent provider of scholarships to the ICT sector.

"AIIA has a strong commitment to promoting education, skills and training in the Australian ICT industry," says AIIA Chairman John Price. "The ACS Foundation has an important role to play in advancing our industry. We hope, with AIIA's endorsement, the Foundation will be able to further its vital contribution through sponsorship for industry-specific training and research projects."

Price's comments have been echoed by AIIA CEO Rob Durie, who says the AIIA and the ACS Foundation share a common vision in the education and skills space.

"Both organisations place a strong emphasis on the importance of a highly-skilled workforce in the growth of Australia's ICT industry. This new partnership will ensure that we are both working together to achieve the same goal," Durie said.

The ACS Foundation was established in 2001 by the ACS to facilitate greater funding for ICT education and research and the ACS continues to provide ongoing funding and in-kind support.

Since its establishment it has raised over $5m in cash and in-kind contributions for these objectives.

This latest show of consolidated strength from the professional association and the leading ICT industry body ensures a bright future for the ACS Foundation, which has so far exceeded all expectations in terms of the number and value of scholarships awarded.

ACS Foundation executive director John Ridge says the AIIA endorsement is a "huge step forward" for the scholarship and research funding body, recognising as it does the critical role it plays in attracting the best and brightest to the ICT sector.

"The opportunity for the Foundation and the AIIA to work together in this way is one of the most exciting developments in the ICT sector in 2005, and will be warmly received by the whole industry," he said.

Since its formation nearly four years ago, the ACS Foundation has attracted an impressive level of support from leading industry players like Compuware, Altirus, Intersystems, IBM, Sun, Motorola and many more. It has also attracted funding from outside the industry with organisations like Wesfarmers, American Express, Cadbury Schweppes, Target and the Graphic Arts and Merchants Association of Australia (GAMAA), playing an active role.

"These and other sponsoring organisations all have a significant investment in ICT and recognise that nearly 70 per cent of the people employed in ICT work outside of the industry," John said.

"We are currently seeing a huge uptake in support for the Foundation's scholarship programs, with more companies looking to integrate or augment their graduate programs through the ACS Foundation.

Ridge said that "Work Integrated Learning" scholarships are proving especially popular, since they represent a great opportunity for students to gain valuable work experience as well as obtaining their degree.

"While it's too early to identify all the likely benefits of the ACS Foundation and AIIA working together, we're delighted to have their formal backing and look forward to a fruitful relationship that delivers significant benefits for the sector as a whole," he said.

ACS Foundation awards first indigenous scholarship

The ACS Foundation has awarded its first scholarship to an indigenous student, partnering with Unisys to provide $40,000 over three years to University of Technology, Sydney student Daniel Neilson.

A graduate of Hurlstone Park Agricultural High School, Daniel is in his first year of the prestigious UTS Bachelor of Information Technology (UTS BInfTech) degree program, an intensive three-year course comprising two six-month, full-time placements in sponsoring organisations.

Entry to the program is fiercely contested, with ICT industry representatives actively involved in the interview and selection process.

"When I checked out the course, it was clear that it has a great reputation throughout the industry and is highly regarded by employers," said Daniel. "I also like the way it provides hands-on experience with sponsoring companies to give students a solid grounding in the application of technology."

Students study business subjects in addition to technical ICT subjects, and formal coursework is supplemented by contributions from industry sponsors in the form of presentations about contemporary ICT issues, environments and applications.

Sponsors have input into the curriculum to ensure that the course reflects the current issues, so students graduate with a solid academic foundation, relevant practical experience and an advanced appreciation of the role of ICT in business.

Graduates from the UTS program are in high demand, which is reflected in the 100 per cent success rate for students who actively seek employment after completing the course, with some students having four or five job offers.

Daniel cultivated his interest in computers during high school, applying his knowledge and skills to develop the school Web site and another site for graduates. He also developed systems for local small businesses, such as an application to monitor and charge users for their time at an Internet cafe.

While enjoying the early stages of the three-year degree, Daniel doesn't yet know what kind of jobs he'd like to pursue in the longer term.

"At this stage I'm leaning towards network engineering or systems analyst roles, but I'll wait and see what interests me most throughout the course," he said. "So far it's all been pretty easy but I'm expecting it to get much more demanding as the course progresses."

He's grateful for the financial assistance made available through the scholarship since it gives him greater flexibility in how he uses his time.

"The scholarship makes a big difference because it takes away the financial pressure and allows me to concentrate on my studies rather than having to juggle both uni and work," said Daniel.

ACS Foundation executive director John Ridge said the Foundation is delighted to award its first scholarship to an indigenous student.

"In addition to recognising academic excellence, the Foundation has always sought to make ICT studies more accessible to students in minority groups, regional areas, women and students with disabilities.

"As our first indigenous scholarship recipient and one who has always performed at a very high level academically, Daniel will provide an excellent role model to help attract other students of Aboriginal and Islander descent into the ICT sector," he said.

Unisys MD Mike Ettling, said Unisys has a vested interest in helping to develop the skills of all young people interested in ICT careers.

"This investment represents a tangible commitment to Australia that goes beyond the customer relationships that we have, and the business that we generate here. Shareholders, society, politicians and customers increasingly expect that companies in general play their part in broad community support and development, in a number of ways. Unisys is delighted to play its part," he said.

ACS sets new board structure

The ACS has introduced a new Board structure, reorganising its primary fields of activity into 12 strategic areas. The new arrangement came into effect on January 1, 2005, although the newest of the boards - Economic & Industry Policy - was only formally established on 1 March.

The original make-up of eight boards has been redefined and expanded into the following structure:

Community Boards Professional Affairs Boards Technical Boards ACS Women Accreditation, Assessment and Appeals Computer Science Communications Technologie Membership Lifecycle Computer Systems and Software Engineering Community Affairs Membership Standards Information Systems Economic & Industry Policy Professional Development Young IT Professionals

At its final meeting for 2004, the ACS National Council ratified the new structure and elected Directors for each of the boards, including several who have been newly elected into these roles for 2005.

Communications Technologies Board - Professor David Everitt is Chair of Internetworking, Director of Research and Associate Head of Sydney University's School of Information Technologies. He is very highly regarded within the Australian and international communications sector, having been active within IEEE, and being a long-term member of the Telecommunications Society of Australia (TSA) and the ACM.

David is currently Technical Program Chair for the IEEE Vehicular Technology Conference in Melbourne next May, a major international conference in wireless communications, which will see around 1000 research papers presented. Before joining the University of Sydney, he lectured at both Swinburne University and the University of Melbourne, and previously held research roles with both British Telecom Research Laboratories and Telecom Australia Research Laboratories.

As Director of the new Communications Technologies Board, David is initially focused on attracting the right members and defining the board's activities, as well as forming close links with other societies operating in the communications space, such as TSA, isoc-au, etc. He plans to review the ACS Broadband Policy and work with the board to identify and develop other policies relevant to their sphere of activities.

"Essentially, we're trying to develop ACS activities in the communications arena rather than just the traditional area of computer systems, since we recognise that the two fields are closely related," said David. "This board will encompass both technical and community activities, so we'll also be looking at how best to manage this mix."

David is keen to hear from people with experience and expertise in this area who are interested in playing a role on the Communications Technologies Board. E-mail davideveritt@acslink.net.au

Community Affairs Board - Jerry Casburn is Chief Operating Officer of EDS Credit Services, a position he has just recently taken up. He has previously held executive positions with Cardlink, AMP and American Express and is excited at the prospect of having two major new challenges ahead. An ACS member since 1987, Jerry believes professional associations deserve a stronger voice in the community and is keen to help raise the profile of the ACS. He is keen to canvass other professional organisations about what they believe are important ICT-related issues on which the ACS should have a policy position, and has also identified the issues of Work / Life Balance, Health Information and National ID Cards as being key areas of focus initially.

"These are issues which were in the purview of the Society previously and which continue to need ongoing investigation and resources," he said.

"I also think the Community Affairs Board has a role in promoting and supporting the work of the ACS with community organisations such as service groups, Rotary, school P&Cs, and so on."

If you're interested in an involvement with the ACS Community Affairs Board, contact Jerry at casburn@bigpond.com

Economic and Industry Policy - Ian Dennis is Managing Director of management consulting firm Whitehorse Strategic Group, drawing on a wide-ranging background in management, research and strategic planning to add value for government and corporate clients. An ACS Fellow, he has been in the IT industry for over 25 years and is National Chairman of the Pearcey Foundation.

Ian believes the goals of this new board are closely aligned with his own professional experience and interests, and is gathering a group of dedicated and competent members across Australia with skills in evaluating policy and with networks and connections that will assist the ACS.

"I believe we need to focus on both national and state issues, working closely with BECs and recognising the significant policy role played at the state level," he said.

"Our first priority will be to develop a Structured Policy Framework or manifesto of beliefs into which we can group economic and industry policy statements. This approach will not only enhance our effectiveness with governments, which use a similar approach, but will improve our ability to articulate what we stand for and our direction in a way that resonates with the ACS membership and the ICT community."

Ian is keen to work cooperatively with industry groups like the AIIA and AEEMA, and also plans to track government policy priorities to ensure the ACS has a clear position on issues of interest to government decision makers.

If you're interested in playing a role, contact Ian at ian.dennis@whitehorsestrategic.com

Young IT Professionals - Anastasia Govan is Electronic Document Management System Project Manager at Power & Water Corporation in the Northern Territory. Based in Darwin, she has been an active member of the ACS since joining its ranks two and a half years ago, volunteering to head up the Young IT Committee that was established shortly after her arrival. Under Anastasia's leadership, this group has been enormously successful, staging the first YIT Bootcamp event in Sydney in 2004 and driving initiatives to significantly increase the number of student and graduate members within the ACS.

"As a new board, we can have direct input to the key decision makers within the ACS, providing that younger perspective on the wants and needs of our young members to ensure that we service them appropriately," she said.

"Our goals for this year include building on the success of last year's inaugural Bootcamp, plus a range of activities to retain the 700 new student members we attracted last year at university orientation events, plus those we signed up at O Week this year. We're currently putting together a project schedule and welcome input from ACS members who have ideas about supporting YIT members or are interested in getting involved." Contact Anastasia at anastasia.govan@powerwater.com.au

ACS Women (ACS-W) - Su Spencer has enjoyed an extensive career working in the private sector, state government and in academia. From developing award-winning software for Australian SMEs to driving whole of government IT strategic planning for two state governments, her career has been varied and colourful. An ACS Fellow, she currently works as program director for post-graduate coursework programs in Information Systems at the University of South Australia, as well as teaching IS Strategy and Management and IS Project Management.

As Director of the new ACS-W Board, she welcomes the opportunity to demonstrate that the ICT profession is serious about enhancing the position of women.

"ICT education and workplaces have become so masculinised that most women (and in fact, many men) find them unattractive and uncomfortable," said Su.

"The ACS-W Board aims to increase awareness and understanding of the problems, and recommend practical solutions. The goal is not to tell women that IT careers can be exciting and rewarding, but to help make them exciting and rewarding for women.

"I believe that this is not just a matter of supporting women but of making the whole profession more productive and more relevant to our community."

To provide input to this board or get directly involved, e-mail Su.Spencer@unisa.edu.au

Membership Lifecycle - John Ridge is a former president of the ACS and recently took on the full-time role of Executive Director of the ACS Foundation. A passionate supporter of the ACS for many years, for which he has been recognised as an ACS Fellow and Honorary Life Member, he has held various positions within the ICT sector, including running his own training and ICT support firm.

The Membership Lifecycle Board has developed from the ACS Marketing Board, evolving to take on greater responsibility for the recruitment and retention of members, all marketing and promotional activities, and the various aspects that contribute to a positive experience for ACS members. The board also includes a Standing Working Party on Publications with responsibility for ACS publications strategies.

"We want to develop the ACS into being a more customer (member)-centric organisation that is highly respected within the ICT sector, and responsive to the changing needs of our members, particularly as the industry becomes larger and more professionally diverse," he said.

"An important part of that evolution is delivering a range of tailored products, services and benefits that meet the needs of ACS members as they move through their career lifecycle. This includes career development through the ACS Certification program, ACSLearn and a range of online training services and digital resources, a variety of relevant and credible publications, an effective Corporate Recognition Program, the ACS Foundation, student prizes and services, professional and social networking opportunities, as well as a range of value-added benefits like a Gold Visa card, low-cost home loans and insurance, etc." For more information about this board, e-mail john.ridge@acsfoundation.com.au Membership Standards - Martin Hale is Chief Executive Officer of I.T. Masters, an independent training organisation that has partnered with Charles Sturt University to offer Masters-level qualifications integrating leading IT industry certifications. The Membership Standards Board is responsible for defining and maintaining ACS membership grades, articulating the paths between them, and clearly communicating those paths to the ICT industry. It also seeks to build strong relationships with leading ICT vendors and providers of industry certifications and encourage them to promote ACS membership.

Martin has spent over 20 years in ICT education roles and recognises the importance of the ACS having defined entrance standards and ensuring that these entrance standards are clearly communicated to all prospects. He is committed to promoting the role of the ACS and working to grow the membership. "I believe that ICT will never be recognised as a profession until the majority of ICT practitioners are members of their professional society," he said.

"I will continue the good work of the previous Membership Board, be proactive in working with the ICT Industry, and actively promote the benefits of ACS membership through the board's activities and our extensive network of contacts." For more information about the work of this board, e-mail martin.hale@itmasters.com.au Professional Development - Wayne Knack is Director of Information Technology Solutions and Studies at Barrier Reef TAFE in Townsville and has served as Director of this board since 1999. In this role, he is responsible for providing policy and opportunities for members, regardless of membership grade or location, to participate in activities that support career planning and the acquisition of knowledge and skills relevant to their profession and to the wider community. Key activities of this board include the Education Across the Nation program, various forums, seminars and workshops, annual ACS conferences and Special Interest Groups.

The Professional Development Board also formulates policy and provides advice on creating relevant learning opportunities for non-members working in ICT projects with the goal of improving the practice of ICT in Australia and enhancing the working environment of ACS members being able to work with better informed colleagues. For details about this board, e-mail wknack@netspace.net.au

Accreditation, Assessment and Appeals - John Hughes is Professor of Computing at the University of Technology, Sydney and has held high-level positions with the ACS over many years, serving as Director of the Membership Board until its areas of responsibility were split between two boards this year.

As Director of the Accreditation, Assessment and Appeals Board, he is responsible for ACS activities relating to immigration skills assessments, course accreditation, the appointment of Fellows and Honorary Life Members, and any appeals in relation to membership grading/re-grading or the areas outlined above. He himself has been recognised as both a Fellow and an Honorary Life Member for his outstanding contributions to the ICT sector and to the ACS.

"We're currently working on a wide-ranging agreement with the universities that not only covers accreditation, but also outlines the support we can provide for students and staff," he said.

"Other initiatives include: plans to recognise more members who have made outstanding contributions to ICT in Australia through the election of Fellows; measures to encourage a greater commitment to ethical behaviour within the industry; continuing to work closely with the Federal Government in the area of immigration skills assessment; and work to establish a scheme under the professional standards regime in each state and territory.

NSW and WA are leading the way in this area but other states are also planning Professional Standards legislation and we'll be ready to work with them as that happens." If you'd like to know more or make a contribution, e-mail hughes@it.uts.edu.au

Computer Science - Vijay Varadharajan is the Microsoft Chair and Professor of Computing at Macquarie University. A Fellow of the ACS, he is highly regarded in the international security sector, having held senior research roles with both Hewlett-Packard Labs in the UK and British Telecom Research Labs. He has written over 220 papers and contributed to several books.

The Computer Science Board focuses on the areas of Computer Science, ICT Security, Programming, Data Communications, Computer Graphics and Artificial Intelligence and Expert Systems.

For more information about the work of the Computer Science Board, e-mail vijay@ics.mq.edu.au

Computer Systems & Software Engineering - Karl Reed is an Associate Professor in the Computer Science & Computer Engineering Department at La Trobe University and has served as Director of the CS & SE Board since 1988. A Fellow and Honorary Life Member of the ACS, he enjoys a global reputation in the field of software engineering. This was demonstrated by his election in 2000 to the Chair of the IEEE Computer Society's Technical Council on Software Engineering (TCSE), the first Australian to hold such a high position within this prestigious body.

The CS & SE Board deals with the general areas of Computer Systems (industrial applications of computing in the wider sense) and Software Engineering, and the Director represents the ACS on the Joint ACS-Engineers Australia Software Engineering Board. Areas within its jurisdiction include Safety Critical Systems, Software Engineering, Industrial Automation, Standards, Software Process Improvement, Software Quality, Computer Architecture, Semi-conductor product areas, Operating Systems, Web and E-commerce tools and Mobile Computing. For more information, e-mail kreed@cs.latrobe.edu.au

Information Systems - Steve Elliot is Professor and Head of Business Information Systems at The University of Sydney, with extensive experience in both the academic and commercial sectors, having previously worked at the University of Newcastle, University of New South Wales, Unilever, Caltex and the United Nations. A Fellow of the ACS, he is keen to build closer links between the Society and the IS community, which has sometimes perceived the ACS as being too technical and not business-focused enough.

"I'm keen to help the ACS become more aware of the IS community and vice versa, by helping to develop a structure and mechanisms that will make the ACS more relevant to IS professionals and encourage more of them to join," he said. Steve is very highly regarded within the international IS sphere, having been elected inaugural chair of the UN-sponsored IFIP Working Group 8.4: E-Business Information Systems: Multidisciplinary research and practice. He has also chaired and co-chaired numerous working groups and conferences, most recently acting as Program Chair for the Australasian Conference on Information Systems (ACIS) in Hobart last November.

As IS Board Director, Steve has oversight of the board's committees in the areas of: Electronic Service Delivery and E-Commerce; Enterprise Architecture; IT Governance; Human-Computer Interaction; and Information Systems. If you have a strong interest in any of these areas and would like to get involved, e-mail s.elliot@econ.usyd.edu.au

CMACS: answers for today's challenges

The beginning of any new year always prompts a flurry of predictions about trends and priorities, and this year was no exception.

Numerous research articles and opinion pieces reflected on the key priorities for ICT Managers in 2005, highlighting areas for attention and professional development. It has been interesting to track the synchronicity between these predictions and the content offered by the ACS Certification Program, which offers world-class, Masters-level distance education for ICT professionals wanting to enhance their knowledge and skills.

Five key challenges have emerged:

1 The need for strategic business and communications skills. ICT Managers must be able to clearly articulate the value their department delivers to the organisation and to achieve buy-in from both executives and business users for new systems.

Solution: The Business, Strategy and IT subject in the ACS Certification Program covers the CIO Role, while the Technology Trends subject on Technology Developments is aimed at the introduction of ICT initiatives.

2 The need to enhance business processes. Managers are under pressure to deliver competitive advantage by improving business processes, recognising their value as unique business assets.

Solution: The Certification Technology Trends subject covers Process and Application Trends, while IT-oriented Process Models, such as ITIL and Cobit, are covered in the new subject, Managing Technology and Operations.

3 The need to comply with increased regulatory requirements. ICT managers now have to work more closely with CFOs and boards to meet tighter reporting regimes such as Sarbanes-Oxley.

Solution: The Certification Business, Legal and Ethical Issues subject covers Innovation, Governance and Compliance.

4 The need to improve service delivery in a multi-sourced environment. Between outsourcing, offshoring, insourcing and onshoring, ICT Managers could be forgiven for being a little confused about the best sourcing strategy for their organisation.

Solution: The issues of architecture, infrastructure and standards are covered in the Technology Trends subject of the Certification Program.

5 The need to optimise the value of ICT investments. ICT Managers need to closely monitor costs, performance and utilisation of resources to ensure that ICT investments deliver maximum value for minimum outlay.

Solution: The business value of IT is covered in the Business, Legal and Ethical Issues subject, while Evaluating and Justifying IT Initiatives is in the Business, Strategy and IT subject.

Over the past several months, the core and professional level subjects of the ACS Certification Program have been almost entirely rewritten to ensure the content is completely up to date. The specialisation subjects are being updated right now, with all the subjects due to be finalised by the middle of the year.

The program itself has been restructured to provide a more logical progression. As before, students undertake the two core subjects (Technology Trends and Business, Legal & Ethical Issues) but now, instead of doing a two-part specialisation subject, they now complete a professional subject (Business, Strategy & IT) before choosing their specialisation.

In today's business environment, all IT specialists need to be better informed of issues surrounding business strategy, the enabling role of IT, the role of the CIO and the IS function. Business, Strategy and IT examines the demand side of the IT function.

As part of the assessment in this subject, students complete core tasks and assignments, then select one assignment topic that reflects their area of specialisation, whether it be Digital Business (formerly e-Business), e-Learning, Knowledge Management, Managing Technology and Operations, Project Management or Software Development.

This approach gives students more time to choose their specialisation, as well as making it easier to undertake additional specialisations if they choose.

You can begin a CMACS subject at any time rather than having to wait for a specific time-frame, and the ability to integrate work and learning means you can apply the theory to your work situation while doing assignments.

To give you a better idea of what's involved in the ACS Certification program, the first module for the Business Legal & Ethical subject can be accessed from the Certification Web site at http://www.acs.org.au/certification/index.cfm

Why not check it out and make your future a little brighter today?

World's first IT governance standard Standards Australia has published the first national standard on governance for the information technology industry following a number of high profile IT failures that have cost Australian industry and taxpayers billions.

The ACS was involved in the drafting of the standard and endorses its adoption.

The chief executive of Standards Australia, John Tucker, said: "Significant investment in IT systems is crucial to Australian business but many investments do not meet timetables, budgets or realise expected benefits."

"With this new information technology governance organisations for the first time have a framework to tackle one of the biggest issues faced by business today," said Mr Tucker.

"This standard outlines a framework of responsibility for Board Directors in dealing with IT strategy and projects. It offers six simple principles for evaluating, directing and monitoring IT acquisition, performance and delivery."

The six governance principles are: 1. Establish clearly understood responsibilities for ICT governance 2. Plan ICT to best support the organisation 3. Acquire ICT validly 4. Ensure ICT performs well at all times 5. Ensure ICT conforms with formal rules such as relevant legislation. 6. Ensure ICT use respects human factors

According to Tucker: "The standard is designed to help Directors ask the right questions of their IT departments, contractors and vendors, and to understand the answers."

"It is strongly aligned with the AS8000:2003 Corporate governance standards and AS4360:2004 Risk Management."

In addition to AS 8018 ICT Service management, Standards Australia has published AS 8018-1:2004 ICT Service Management - Specification for Service Management and AS8018-2:2004 and ICT Service Management - Code of Practice for Service Management.

The launch was supported by the Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA), Australian Computer Society (ACS), Project Management Institute (PMI), IT Service Management Forum (itSMF) - Australia, Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD), and the Australian Institute of Project Management (AIPM).

Standards for the Governance of ICT in projects, operations and contracts are currently under development. More information about these activities and background reading on the Governance of ICT can be found on the ACS Web site at www.acs.org.au/governance.

The ACS welcomes the publication of AS8015 and advises its members to adopt it.

Marghanita da Cruz and John Graham are members of the Standards Australia Working group which drafted the standard. She is principal consultant of Ramin Communications, Chair of the ACS Governance of ICT committee and ACS representative on Standards Australia Committee IT-030 IT Management and Governance.

Graham is principal consultant of Educad, member of the ACS Governance of ICT Committee and the Society of Consumer Affairs Professionals (SOCAP) representative on IT-030.

ACS takes work/life policy to Canberra

Paid parental leave proposed via superannuation-like scheme As work/life balance issues and a looming skills shortage continue to arouse debate in the Australian workplace, the ACS has released an innovative policy seeking favourable tax arrangements to fund parental leave. The ACS is also calling for ICT employers to introduce more family-friendly work environments and healthy lifestyle options. The expected benefits of this approach include a higher workforce participation rate particularly for women (and increased PAYG revenues), improved living standards, higher enrolments in ICT courses and an increased talent pool to help position Australia as a key onshoring destination. For individuals, the benefits are greater choice and an ability to strike a better balance between work and home at various stages of their lives and career.

Proposal to government: The ACS has proposed that the Government use part of the current identified budget surplus to support options allowing workers access to paid parental leave by: • Providing favourable tax arrangements to encourage employees to salary sacrifice a portion of income that can be used to fund parental leave at an estimated cost of $155m for 14 weeks; $287m for 26 weeks and $575m for 52 weeks leave; or • Introducing arrangements to allow employees who invest more in superannuation to be able to draw on this investment (at a favourable tax rate) before the current retirement age to fund parental leave, at an estimated cost of $141m for 14 weeks, $262m for 26 weeks and $524m for 52 weeks; • Providing tax deductions for child care arrangements for working parents - estimated cost of $771m; and • Removing the FBT on gym and other recreational club memberships funded by employers or salary sacrificed by employees - estimated cost in forgone revenue $154m.

Recommendations for employers: The ACS policy recommends that employers • Implement, where practicable, flexible working hours by setting core working hours from 10am to 3pm and accommodate early starts and late finishes; • Schedule face-to-face meetings in core hours only, and use technological solutions to facilitate meetings outside those hours; • Support teleworking, where appropriate, for up to two days a week; • Encourage job-sharing and part-time work; • Encourage employees to pursue fitness and extracurricular activities; and • Implement parental leave arrangements. The ACS policy is the first all-encompassing approach developed by an Australian working group of ICT leaders, practitioners and HR specialists, including input from economic consultants Access Economics.

ACS National President Edward Mandla said there are few issues as critical to corporate Australia as work/life balance. "We are facing a potential skills shortage in the ICT industry - particularly in the longer term through diminishing student enrolments in ICT disciplines and low participation rates of women in the ICT workforce.

"To make genuine progress in this area, we need to see some practical solutions put forward. That's why the ACS decided to engage the experience and expertise of leading ICT companies and HR managers.

"We believe the solutions proposed in this policy can help prevent a potential skills shortage by facilitating a happy, committed and productive workforce within the ICT industry."

Mandla said the ICT industry could make an important leadership contribution in this area, eventually becoming a model industry. "The ICT sector has been at the leading edge of the technology revolution in the workplace, and at the forefront of innovative working environments. But the experience of our industry highlights the importance of balanced attitudes - and not just the right technology - to create happy and productive employees.

"A simple definition of work/life balance is achieving a better balance between the requirements of employees and organisational goals. There has been a lot of focus on ICTs application to women, but perhaps not enough recognition that the challenges faced by women with young families are also an issue for men in the workforce.

"This policy is designed to address the needs of employees of many different ages and stages of their working career," he said.