Australian service personnel are waiting up to 10 years for essential new technology because of the Defence department’s failure to complete projects on time, according to the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) report on major projects for 2009-2010.
According to the ANAO report:
• Predicted delays on getting planes into the air, new weapons to ships and improve communications system out to men and women in the field now total 688 months – or 57 years.
• The average delay for a project has risen from just over two years in 2008-09 to just under three years in 2009-10.
• The main reason for the delays is failure to accurately estimate the scope and complexity of work by the Defence Materiel Organisation.
In its examination of the 2009-10 Major Projects Report the ANAO examined the performance of 22 programs up from 15 it scrutinised last year.
It found that while budgetary compliance had improved, delays remained the major issue.
In total, the approved budgets for the 22 major projects amount to $40.8 billion, as at 30 June 2010.
This represents just over half of the budget for the DMO’s approved major capital investment program.
The ANAO’s analysis of the lead or main capability for the 22 major projects covered in the 2009-10 MPR shows that 13 projects have experienced schedule slippage.
The total slippage across the major projects amounts to 688 months, which represents a 31 per cent increase on the original planned schedule for achieving the final operational capabilities (FOC).
This figure includes the C-17 Heavy Airlift, which is forecast to achieve FOC 11 months ahead of schedule.
The average schedule slippage per major project amounts to 34 months (almost three years).
The projects currently forecast to experience delays of four or more years are: HF Modernisation (120 months), Collins Reliability and Sustainability (99 months), FFG Upgrade (84 months), Collins Replacement Combat System (72 months), ANZAC Anti-Ship Missile Defence Phase 2A (64 months), ANZAC Anti-Ship Missile Defence Phase 2B (49 months) and Wedgetail (48 months).
The Wedgetail airborne early warning and control aircraft is unlikely to achieve one of its five key capability requirements – the phased array radar will not meet the specification at final delivery, the report says.
For a downloaded copy of the report, head to http://www.anao.gov.au/director//director/publications/auditreports.cfm