COVID-19 puts health payroll and HRIS project on hold

A new project that HealthShare Victoria (HSV) had been working on to improve sector-wide management of Victoria’s public health payroll and human resource information systems has been put on hold until pandemic conditions ease.

While the Department of Health highlighted HSV’s role in leading the work in conjunction with health services to better manage these back-end systems for Victoria’s public health sector, current demands on health service and HSV resources during the COVID-19 pandemic has meant the project will be deferred until the sector is better placed to manage the additional capacity required.

“The Department is very appreciative of the cooperation and input provided by health services in this regard and the support shown for the research conducted,” says Department of Health Executive Director Metropolitan Health Services and Ambulance Commissioning and System Improvement Division Ryan Heath.

The Department of Health believes the concept is a positive initiative with potential over the longer term to improve system operations in the public health sector but recognises the need to balance resource requirements with current sector, HSV and internal demands.

In the meantime, the Department of Health continues to encourage health services to voluntarily share corporate financial, payroll or HR systems functions where appropriate, in line with requirements to maintain sector alignment with future common platforms.