Tech Professionals Advocacy Update: The Role of ACS Queensland on the Council of ICT Associations (CICTA)
5th May 2020
Highlights
- CICTA is an umbrella body representing the major ICT-related associations in Queensland.
- CICTA addresses concerns for the ICT profession and industry as nominated by a consensus of member ICT associations.
- ACS has been actively involved with CICTA
By Dr Nick Tate, Vice President, Membership Boards, ACS Management Committee; and Chair of CICTA, the Council of ICT Associations.
The Council of ICT Associations (CICTA) is an umbrella body representing the major ICT-related associations in Queensland. In 2005, then Queensland Premier, Peter Beattie, complained publicly that the ICT Profession and Industry never spoke to Government with one voice. So, three major professional and Industry organisations, ACS, AIIA and Software Queensland got together to present a single voice from the Queensland ICT Profession and industry to the Queensland Government and called themselves the ICT Industry Workgroup (ICTIW). At this time, the ICTIW started to meet regularly met with the relevant Minister and Director-General in the Queensland Government.
Over time, ICTIW expanded into the Council of ICT Associations (CICTA) which is the umbrella body representing twelve ICT related associations in Queensland. CICTA addresses ICT community concerns as nominated by a consensus of our member ICT associations.
CICTA’s goal is to provide a unified voice for Queensland’s ICT profession and industry and both be an advocate for and promote the interests of ICT community in Queensland to the wider business community.
Who are CICTA’s members?
CICTA’s members include: Australian Computer Society (ACS), Australian Information Industries Association (AIIA), Australian Information Security Association (AISA), Australian Institute of Project Management (AIPM), Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSco), International Institute of Business Analysts (IIBA), Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA), IT Service Management Forum (ITSMF), IT Forum Gold Coast (ITFGC), Queensland Futures Institute (QFI), Spatial Industries Business Association (SIBA|GITA), and Women in Technology (WiT).
What does CICTA do?
CICTA addresses concerns for the ICT profession and industry as nominated by a consensus of member ICT associations. CICTA provides ICT industry leadership by providing advice to government on how ICT policies, strategies and directions are best formed.
As part of advising the Government, most of the members of the CICTA executive sit on the Minister’s ICT Advisory Committee (MICTAC), which is chaired by Minister de Brenni. One of CICTA’s overarching priorities is to expand the number of ICT jobs in Queensland and this is a topic that we frequently discuss with Government. Another priority is to enhance the profile and desirability of the ICT industry and ICT profession and this is also an area of significant discussion with Government.
We also advocate on behalf of our member associations on particular topics. On one memorable occasion a few years ago, the Government introduced a registration scheme for security professionals. The Government didn’t mean to include Cybersecurity professionals who suddenly found that they would have to register in a category for bouncers. We provided rapid feedback and the problem was fixed.
We are currently deep in discussion with the Government on a number of initiatives to advance the cause of ICT in Queensland and I hope to be able to report on these in the near future.
ACS helped to form CICTA and has always been actively involved. If you would like to know more about the work of CICTA, please don’t hesitate in contacting me at Nick.Tate@acs.org.au.
About the Author
Dr Nick Tate is Vice President, Membership Boards, ACS Management Committee; and Chair of CICTA, the Council of ICT Associations. Hear from Dr Tate on ACS Queensland’s work via CICTA, and the latest advocacy underway to support you as an ACS Queensland member.