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Poorly trained and inexperienced IT contractors are being hired for important government projects without proper scrutiny of their technical abilities, the public sector union says. Last week the Department of Human Services sacked as many as 100 IT subcontractors as it investigated allegations some had been employed using fake CVs. Many of these subcontractors were supplied by an external labour hire company with little departmental oversight, DHS sources said. The Community and Public Sector Union's national secretary, Nadine Flood, said the government must scrap such contracting arrangements. "Labour hire simply has to go," she said. "This fraud case could not have occurred if this work was being done by Commonwealth employees employed under the Public Service Act and subject to APS scrutiny." Contractors with knowledge of the government's IT procurement process were also critical of the lack of scrutiny. "Quite often contractors will be given a technical role at DHS without ever having had an in-depth technical interview," said one contractor. "Recruitment agencies supplying these contractors don't have the required skills either." The employment of unsuitable contractors would cost the taxpayer in the long-term, Ms Flood added. "One third of 14,000 ICT staff across the APS are now contractors but the evidence is these contractors do not always have the right training, experience or specialist skills for the job, and cost far more than qualified APS employees," she said. "External contractors cost this government far more and in most cases deliver far less than if the money was spent on retaining qualified APS staff." In May 2017 the government's ICT Procurement Taskforce found that internal IT employees cost an average of $132,000 per year, compared with an average cost of $214,000 per year for contractors. Ms Flood said government outsourcing in the IT sector was "dismally failing". "Whether trying to start a business, get an education, find employment or caring for a loved one, the digital public services on which the Australian public relies should be every bit as good as the private sector." A spokesman for the Department of Human Services said there were robust systems in place to ensure contractors had the appropriate skills and security clearances. "IT contractors are sourced from vendors on the department's Deed of Standing Offer for ICT Services," the spokesman said. "To be included on the panel, these vendors execute a contract with legally enforceable terms and conditions, including that the staff they put forward for our consideration have the necessary skills to undertake the work required. "In addition, the department assesses each contractor's technical skills, including through an interview and by contacting referees, and where appropriate, conducting a technical test." The subcontractors under suspicion at DHS have been asked to attend interviews with investigators inside the department's Tuggeranong headquarters. At least one public service employee is also under suspicion, with the department calling in the Australian Federal Police to help with the investigation. Rory Markham, the director of employment litigation at Chamberlains Law Firm, said the subcontractors had been sacked prior to investigation, and many were shocked to learn of their alleged role in the fraud. "Some of the employees involved in the claim now have reason to believe that, without their knowledge, they had CVs submitted on their behalf that were false," he said. "These are mums and dads with mortgages to pay and kids to feed. And they are not getting paid while these claims are investigated."

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