Data Centres

Introduction

The Australian Government approved the Australian Government Data Centre Strategy 2010-2025 (the Strategy) in March 2010. The need for a Strategy was identified in the Review of the Australian Government’s Use of ICT, (the ICT Review). Recommendation 5 of the ICT Review was to develop a whole-of-government approach to avoid $1 billion of future data centre costs.

This Strategy affects all Australian Government Agencies. Agencies that operate under the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997 (FMA Act) must follow the approach (with a limited exception for national security activity). Agencies that operate under the Commonwealth Authorities and Corporations Act 1997 (CAC Act) may choose to adopt it.

Implementation of the Strategy

Data Centre Panels

To help implement the Strategy, two data centre panels have been formed. Using these panels is mandatory for FMA Act agencies, and may also be used by:

• CAC Act Agencies; and
• all bodies governed by a State Governor or by Minister of a State or Territory or over which a State or Territory exercises control (including departments in State and Territory Governments).

For further information on the Panels please see:

• Data Centre Facilities Panel
• Data Centre Migration Services Panel
• Other coordinated procurement panels or contract arrangements – see the Policy, Guides & Procurement page

Data Centre as a Service (DCaaS) Multi Use List (MUL)

The DCaaS MUL was established to provide Agencies with a simple way to procure Cloud and Cloud-Like Services under $80,000 (inc GST) for less than 12 months.  For further information on the MUL please see the Data Centre as a Service Multi Use List Fact Sheet.

Data Centre Optimisation Targets Policy

The Data Centre Optimisation Targets Policy (the Policy) establishes the performance targets to be met by FMA Act Agencies. The Policy was endorsed by the Chief Information Officer Committee (CIOC) in April 2011, and includes targets for data centre Power Usage Efficiency (PUE), server utilisation and storage utilisation.

The Data Centre Optimisation Planning Model and Guidance documents have been developed to help agencies meet these targets. These are available to Agencies through GovCIO, Govdex or by contacting AGIMO at datacentres@finance.gov.au.

For further information on the Policy, refer to the Data Centre Optimisation Targets Policy Fact Sheet.

Contact for information on this page: Datacentres@finance.gov.au