Services Australia's CIDO heads to RBA

Services Australia’s CIDO heads to RBA

Key points

Charles McHardie is leaving Services Australia after more than four-and-a-half years as IT and digital chief to become the Reserve Bank’s chief information officer on October 19.

Key points

Charles McHardie is leaving Services Australia after more than four-and-a-half years as IT and digital chief to become the Reserve Bank’s chief information officer on October 19.
He takes over from Stephen Smith, who retired in June after five years as RBA’s CIO, and will lead the central bank’s IT function and technology service delivery.
McHardie joined Services Australia in early 2020 to lead transformation activity, including the welfare payments infrastructure transformation, after earlier stints at Veterans’ Affairs, the Department of Human Services, Defence and the Royal Australian Navy.

Services Australia’s IT and digital chief of over four-and-a-half years Charles McHardie is leaving to take up the vacant IT leadership role at the Reserve Bank.

In a brief statement, Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) said McHardie would begin as chief information officer (CIO) on October 19.

RBA’s last CIO Stephen Smith retired in June after five years in the role.

McHardie will take over RBA’s IT function and the delivery of technology services at the central bank.

“Over the past decade, Charles has overseen the technology and digital infrastructure that supports the delivery of government services to millions of Australians, driving significant transformation and innovation, including technology solutions that enabled rapid responses during the pandemic,” RBA said in a statement.

A Services Australia spokesperson was contacted for additional comment.

McHardie started at Services Australia in early 2020, just as the pandemic started to take hold, and initially led transformation activity, before transitioning into the CIDO role.

Upon joining in 2020, he notably took the reins for the welfare payments infrastructure transformation (WPIT), a major Centrelink payments technology overhaul.

McHardie has a long career in federal government ICT and transformation, with stints at the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, Services Australia’s predecessor the Department of Human Services, and Defence.

He also had a distinguished career in the Royal Australian Navy, specialising in ICT and intelligence as it relates to naval warfare.

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AndyC

Andy Curtis is an award-winning security consultant, researcher and public speaker. He has been working in the computer security industry since the early 1990s, having been employed by state and federal government, leading healthcare and banking providers across three continents. He has given talks about computer security for some of the world’s largest companies, worked with law enforcement agencies on investigations into hacking groups, and is a regular voice on TV and radio explaining IT security threats.

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