The Commonwealth Digital and ICT Oversight Framework (IOF) provides a way for the DTA to support the Government to manage its digital and ICT-enabled investments - from early planning through to project delivery and realisation of planned benefits.

A graphic overview of the IOF is available

What is the IOF?

The IOF is a six-state, end-to-end framework providing a way for the Government to manage digital investments across the entire project lifecycle.

State 1 – Strategic Planning (pre-budget):
Defines the Government’s digital and ICT-enabled investment portfolio, it’s future objectives and identifies capability gaps.

State 2 – Prioritisation (pre-budget):
Prioritises, plans and advises on investments to deliver on the Government’s digital and ICT objectives.

State 3 – Contestability (budget):
Ensures proposals are robust and meet whole-of-government digital standards immediately prior to government consideration.

State 4 – Assurance (implementation):
Provides assurance to the Government that investments are on-track to deliver expected benefits/throughout delivery.

State 5 – Sourcing (implementation):
Ensures Government obtains the best value for money from digital and ICT-enabled investments.

State 6 – Operations
Regular data collection provides intelligence on the size, health and maturity of the Government's Digital and ICT investments.

Agencies developing, bringing forward or implementing digital and ICT-enabled investments are subject to the requirements of the IOF.

Investments subject to the Framework

The IOF applies, in principle to all Government digital and ICT-enabled investments that meet the below eligibility criteria.

A digital and ICT-enabled investment is an investment which uses technology as the primary lever for achieving expected outcomes and benefits. This includes investments which are:

• transforming the way people and businesses interact with the Australian Government
• improving the efficiency and effectiveness of Australian Government operations, including through automation.

The IOF applies where the digital and ICT-enabled investment:

• is brought forward by a non-corporate Commonwealth entity and, where specifically requested by the Minister responsible for the Digital Transformation Agency, a Corporate Commonwealth entity
• involves ICT costs*
• is being brought forward for government consideration as a new policy proposal**.

* note – for the ICT Investment Approval Process, the annual prioritisation process and reporting purposes, only investments with initial ICT set-up capital costs of $10 million or more, or whole-of-initiative costs of $30 million or more, will be considered at these states of the Framework.

** note – The DTA and the Department of Defence are applying the IOF in a way that avoids duplicating Defence’s established, comparable, and effective strategic planning and decision-making process under the Defence Integrated Investment Program (IIP) or the application of standards and policies compromising warfighting or coalition requirements. The Office of National Intelligence is also tailoring the IOF by using existing policies and governance processes already in place in the National Intelligence Community to lead the provision of advice to the Australian Government for Top Secret digital and ICT-enabled proposals across the life cycle, including assurance, for Top Secret proposals seeking funding outside the Defence IIP process.

Get in touch

If you have any questions on the IOF, including whether your investment is subject to the IOF and what state your investment is at, please contact us at investment@dta.gov.au