Queensland's ICT Minister Ros Bates can't say how many IT contractors will be affected. Credit:Harrison Saragossi Linda Trevor, the executive general manager of Candle, one of the Queensland's largest suppliers of IT contractors, said some workers had been offered the chance to renew their contracts, with a 10 per cent cut. Those who did not accept the reduced terms were being let go, while hundreds more were still waiting to learn whether their services were required, less than two weeks before their contracts expire on June 30, Trevor said. Candle has 50 contractors in limbo and several other recruitment agencies were in the same position, she said. Meanwhile, one agency, the Qld Department of Education, Training and Employment (DETE), has called on the Australian Information Industries Association (AIIA) to find new jobs for its surplus workers.

In a letter last week to AIIA Queensland chair Maree Adshead, DETE chief information officer David O'Hagan wrote that "a significant number of temporary staff" would cease employment with the agency on June 29. "I would encourage members of the AIIA to consider these staff as they have a proven track record and would enhance the IT capability of any organisation," O'Hagan wrote. Candle's Trevor described the new administration's actions as "quite drastic" and "very reactionary". Contract staff who were let go were likely to be re-employed down the track, possibly at higher rates, as the government learned it could not complete current projects without resources, she warned. "They will cut and realise they shouldn't have done it and bring them all back in [...] it defeats the whole saving money purpose," she said. One IT contractor, who asked not to be named, told IT Pro he was one of a project team of 50 who were all waiting to learn whether they would be clocking on, come July 1. Their project is due to go live in March 2013.

"What information we're getting is only coming from the project manager," he said. "There's nothing coming from higher up. The project manager says he's in the dark too – I think he'd be more forthcoming if he knew." The contractor said he had begun looking for alternative work but the market was "not crash hot in Brisbane at the moment". Agents were reporting that rates had dropped, thanks to the influx of government contractors looking for new gigs, and the situation was likely to worsen as more entered the market, he said. "I know there's a lot of people looking and a lot of negativity in the office...there's a definite frustration factor."

While job uncertainty was par for the course in the contracting market, the government's rationalisation process had been badly handled, he added. Ros Bates, who has consulted with the ICT industry since taking office, refused to comment on the number of IT contractors affected by the cuts or how many were to be shown the door in a fortnight's time, when contacted by IT Pro. "At present the IT department, along with all other government departments, is undertaking a comprehensive audit to establish these and other facts pertaining to the department's use of private contractors," Bates said in a statement. "The previous Labor government has left a shambles in its wake, the full dimensions of which have still to be uncovered. This applies not only to the field of IT but to other fields as well. Only after these audits have been completed and studied will the department be in a position to authoritatively answer such questions." Information Technology Contract and Recruitment Association CEO Julie Mills said recruiters had begun placing Queensland contractors onto projects in other states, including the more robust ACT market.