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ACS News

ACS staff, Information Age

21/08/2001 17:12:12

ACS Foundation to increase flow of IT graduatesThe ACS has established the first national Foundation aimed specifically at supporting the IT industry through funding of educational scholarships and industry research grants.

Officially launched by the Federal Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, Senator Richard Alston, at a breakfast in Sydney recently, the ACS Foundation will be funded by donations from industry, business, government, concerned individuals and the ACS.

It plans to offer over 100 scholarships and disseminate between $3 million and $5 million in educational grants by its fifth year of operation.

ACS President John Ridge said the Foundation has been established to address the shortfall in skills and research currently within the IT industry.

"The most effective way of encouraging further growth and development within the Australian IT industry is to improve access to higher education," he said.

"I am convinced there will be an enormous payback, not only for the IT industry but for Australia as a whole, if we raise the level of available funding for technology R&D. There is no question that our future will be built on technology, and those who own the intellectual property associated with leading edge developments will have a significant advantage over nations who either fail to innovate or who give up their rights to that property."An ATO-designated Gift Recipient, the ACS Foundation provides tax effective programs for industry and private donors. By becoming a member of the Foundation and placing IT first, donors can invest in the future of the Australian IT industry.

Student recipients must be enrolled in an IT-related undergraduate or postgraduate degree course that has been accredited by the ACS at one of Australia's 37 universities and must meet predefined criteria for special merit, hardship or be disadvantaged in some way. The Foundation will also seek to encourage more women, who are significantly under-represented in the industry. "Despite the fact that girls comprise over 40 per cent of students enrolled in secondary school IT courses, women account for only 20 per cent of information and communications technology professionals in Australia," said Professor Degan Feng, Head of Computer Sciences at the University of Sydney.

In addition to scholarships for academic courses, the ACS Foundation provides financial support for approved research projects. The Research Fund includes categories for:

Pure research - Sponsoring companies can fund a pure research project undertaken for a PhD or post-doctoral thesis. In addition to financial assistance, the student undertaking the project may require intellectual or resource assistance from the sponsoring company.

Applied research - Sponsoring companies can fund the application and transition of a purely academic research project into a practical environment.

To date ACS has already secured significant funding from leading IT companies such as Compuware and Online Advantage; however, to reach its ambitious targets, additional support and industry commitment is needed.

According to John Debrincat, Vice President for Compuware Asia Pacific, whose company recently donated $500,000 to the Foundation, IT businesses have a responsibility to assist in education and research initiatives for the good of the entire industry.

"A key element of our partnership strategy includes the provision of education and training for young people. Compuware has formed partnerships with the Australian Computer Society and several universities to meet this objective and to respond to the growing need for practical, vocational support for information technology students.

"The ACS Foundation is a great step forward in that it puts funds to aid IT skills development into the hands of the key independent industry and professional organisation, the Australian Computer Society."

The ACS is committed to the success of the Foundation and will seed fund a number of scholarships in the first year to encourage government and business support. Individuals or businesses interested in supporting the Foundation should call (02) 9299 3666 for details.

IT salaries grow again but lag CPI in 2000-01The ACS recently released the results of its annual salary survey, revealing that while IT salaries continued to rise in 2000-01, growth levels fell short of the CPI increase recorded during that period.

The 2001 ACS Remuneration Survey found that IT professionals on average experienced salary increases of 5.1 per cent over the 12 months to May 2001 while the GST-impacted Consumer Price Index grew by 6.0 per cent.

While the 5.1 per cent increase recorded in 2000-01 was the same as that experienced during the previous 12 months, average weekly earnings during the same period grew by 4.7 per cent, up from just 3.6 per cent the previous year.

"Although IT salaries continued to rise, they were only marginally above the average weekly earnings increase, indicating a slow-down in the rate of growth during the past 12 months. By comparison, last year's survey had IT salaries growing at a rate well above the increase in average weekly earnings," said ACS President John Ridge.

"This slow-down is a natural correction as a result of the current economic downturn and the increasing prevalence of staff layoffs, as well as the reduction in demand for IT staff in the wake of past requirements for Y2K and GST projects.

"The survey indicates that IT salaries are beginning to come more into line with other professions, although the impact of the GST on CPI figures makes it difficult to judge the long-term implications," he said.

Prepared for the ACS by the Association of Professional Engineers, Scientists and Managers, Australia (APESMA), the annual report was based on responses received from nearly 2000 ACS Members.

Mr Ridge said the figures released in the Remuneration Survey showed IT professionals still enjoyed comparatively high incomes with the typical total remuneration package earned by an IT professional in Australia in the private sector over $100,000 per annum. Sales and Marketing positions continue to be the most lucrative based on the median value of total remuneration packages, comprising base salaries, bonuses, superannuation and fringe benefits.

"As in previous years, salaries within the education sector lagged behind the rest of the industry, growing only 3.4 per cent compared to the industry average of 5.1 per cent. This highlights the need to improve the level of financial recognition we offer our IT academics and teachers or risk losing them to the more highly paid public and private sector positions," he said.

An Executive Summary of the ACS Remuneration Survey is available online at The full 110 page report is available from APESMA. Online order forms are available on the APESMA Web site at ACS raises questions about Commonwealth Cybercrime BillThe ACS has raised concerns about elements of the Federal Government's Cybercrime Bill 2001Philip Argy, ACS Vice President and Chair of the Society's Ethics, Legal and Social Implications Committee, presented the Society's submission to the Senate Legal and Constitutional Legislation Committee in Sydney in mid-July.

Mr Argy said the Cybercrime legislation is based on recommendations made in the January 2001 Model Criminal Code Damages and Computer Offences Report. However, he said many of the Society's concerns relate to areas where the Bill makes unacknowledged and unjustified departures from the Model Code.

"While the ACS supports the proposed legislation in principle, we are concerned about the definitions used in many of the provisions and have serious reservations about the broad powers being conferred upon statutory agencies such as ASIO," he said.

Mr Argy pointed to a section of the original report which states that:

'The explosive growth in the number of people using computers, the variety of uses to which they are put, coupled with the intractable problems of defining what is and is not a computer, should preclude blunderbuss prohibitions of this nature. One might just as well argue for offences of impeding the lawful use of a television or record player'.

"Despite this and other sections of the Report which highlight the need to avoid making criminal offences of innocuous or legitimate computer-related activities, the Cybercrime Bill potentially does this through its broad use of language," he said.

"By reason of the awesome breadth of the definitional language employed, seemingly reasonable provisions are converted into precisely the prohibitions the Committee was seeking to avoid, and leave everyday activity vulnerable to prosecution by misguided if not over zealous enforcement authorities."

While the ACS believes strong enforcement is important in relation to cybercrime, Mr Argy said the Society felt that education of enforcement agencies was a significant element in fighting computer-related crime.

"We are also very concerned to ensure that civil liberties are protected and that strong legislation is not able to be used by law enforcement agencies for harassment or other ulterior purposes," he said, calling for investigative powers to be subject to appropriate supervision and scrutiny.

Win a trip to SEARCC 2001

In a bid to canvass the views of ACS Members of IT policy initiatives, the Society is giving away five trips to SEARCC 2001 in New Zealand.

The trips, each worth $2500, will be awarded to the best five entries providing ideas on how to raise the profile of the IT industry on the Federal Government's policy agenda.

This is your chance to influence the future direction of government policy relating to the IT industry.

Simply detail in your own words the top three IT policy initiatives you believe the Commonwealth should implement in order to progress Australia's position in the Information Age.

The best ideas will be used as the basis for ACS policy recommendations and will be communicated to all the major political parties in the lead up to the election.

SEARCC 2001 will be staged in Auckland, NZ from November 26 to 29, 2001. With the theme of "Enhancing Business Value by Applying Technology, the conference will explore the changes and opportunities for the growth and exploitation of IT in the 21st century.

Topics include: wireless technology; innovation in connecting governments to organisations and citizens; net-enabled business process enhancements delivering real benefits, and more. For more information see:

Entries to the competition can be e-mailed to or fax the competition form in this magazine to (02) 9299 3997. Entries must be received by October 10, 2001 to qualify for the competition.

Promote your ACS Membership

In the June/July issue of Information Age, we ran a brief article encouraging ACS Members and Fellows to include the ACS logo on your business cards.

Using the logo and ACS post-nominals like MACS or FACS clearly identifies you as a qualified IT professional who subscribes to a recognised Code of Ethics and Code of Professional Conduct and Practice, as well as encouraging other like-minded practitioners to reassess their professional status.

However, the URL provided in last month's article for information about the use of the ACS logo on business cards was incorrect. For more information on the ACS style guide for business cards, see [RTF bookmark start: _Hlt521299376][RTF bookmark end: _Hlt521299376] or call Simon Kwan on (02) 9299 3666.

ACS elections

Notice of ACS Election or Appointment of Council Members pursuant to Rule 8.4, plus Election/Appointment of National Committee Chairs and IFIP representatives.

At its meeting on October 15/16, 2001 the ACS Council will elect or appoint the following Office Bearers and Board Directors, for which nominations are sought:

President

Vice President x2

Community Affairs Board Director

Publications Board Director

Other positions??

The Council also will elect or appoint the Chairs of National Committees and IFIP Technical Committee Representatives, with the specific committees being listed on the ACS Web site at www.acs.org.au Those elected/appointed will hold the position for a maximum of two years, commencing on January 1, 2002.

Nominations, which should be accompanied by a relevant brief resume, should be lodged with the National Office Manager by e-mail or mail no later than September 17, 2001.

Contact details: Sam Burrell membservices@acslink.net.au or mail to PO Box Q534, QVB NSW 1230 or (02) 9299 3666.

A tribute

The IT community this year mourned the passing of one of its founding fathers and early supporters, Robert Whitaker Rutledge, who died in May at the age of 85.

Originally trained in chemistry, Bob worked almost his entire life with CSR, but his love of mathematical philosophy made him an early advocate of the emerging discipline of computer science. He convinced the senior management of CSR these ideas were worth pursuing commercially and became a proactive advocate of these disciplines within Australia's business and academic communities.

Bob made an extraordinary contribution during the ACS during its early days of its formation.

Not only was he the Founding Honorary Treasurer and Honorary Secretary from 1966-68, but he also served as President in 1970-71 and then as Chief Executive from 1977-1982.

He also served as Branch Chair and Vice-Chair of the ACS NSW Branch between 1968 and 1970 and remained a Member of the Society until this death on May 22 this year.

Our condolences to his wife and family.