The deed \u2014 a portion of which was tabled in Tasmanian Parliament \u2014 also makes reference to a “dispute” between the parties.<\/p>\n
It centres on upgrades to an intelligence management system, known as Atlas, which Tasmania Police purchased off-the-shelf in 2019 for $13 million.<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/92edb4ef2054fa9b7c35cc5b97be2c55.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
Tasmania Police Commissioner Donna Adams says the upgrades are now being reviewed. (ABC News: Ebony ten Broeke)<\/p>\n
Atlas was billed by the government as improving police criminal intelligence capabilities, but has since been described as “clunky” by Commissioner Donna Adams, with it taking officers up to 30 minutes to file intelligence.<\/p>\n
In 2024, Tasmania Police awarded a $14.8 million contract to KPMG to integrate Atlas and manage the project as part of its broad Project Unify upgrades.<\/p>\n
Tasmania Police paid the firm $1.3 million at the signing of the contract, and a further $654,000 to begin the project.<\/p>\n
The contract was intended to run until April this year, but was terminated in January, with KPMG having received $5.4 million for the work. The ABC understands there were project management issues.<\/p>\n
There was no termination payment, according to Tasmania Police.<\/p>\n
The contract termination included clauses that prevented the public from knowing why it had been cancelled.<\/p>\n
“Each party will not make or cause to be made any statement or comment which disparages the other party or any related entity in relation to \u2026 a project or the dispute,” the deed reads.<\/p>\n
Commissioner Adams told parliament in June that the project has since been paused while an independent review is carried out, with police looking to add a new interface to the existing Atlas program.<\/p>\n
“I’m not going to apologise for the fact that we’ve paused the project to make sure that our decision-making moving forward is going to set us up,” she said.Crime reporting portal not up to standardPolice officer in alleged relationship with criminal ‘lied’ about her whereabouts<\/a><\/p>\n A man of “dubious character” who was under active criminal investigation was in an alleged relationship with a Tasmanian police officer who disclosed police information to him, an investigation has found.<\/p>\n During the contract period, Tasmania Police agreed to add more work for KPMG, which included developing a public online crime reporting portal known as Project Link.<\/p>\n This was added as an “agreed variation”; it’s unclear if this went out to open tender.<\/p>\n KPMG received $637,000 for this project, but the ABC understands Project Link faced delays due to significant functionality issues.<\/p>\n It was due to go live in November 2024, then April 2025, before it was paused several months later.<\/p>\n “The system was not going to be up to what the community would expect in terms of submitting a minor crime report,” Commissioner Adams told parliament.<\/p>\n After KPMG left the project in January, it took Tasmania Police a further seven months to complete it, and it went live this month.<\/p>\n Deputy Commissioner Jonathan Higgins told parliament that Project Link’s original funding allocation was $1.75 million.<\/p>\n Do you know more? Contact Adam Holmes at holmes.adam@abc.net.au<\/a>.<\/p>\n A later answer on notice showed it was originally $500,000, and that the remaining funding had been transferred from a firearms register program that was no longer required.<\/p>\n An independent review into the projects is ongoing.<\/p>\n A Tasmania Police spokesperson said this would guide the next steps.<\/p>\n “As part of that process, work completed to date, including the design and build of additional modules, is being assessed,” they said.<\/p>\n “It would be premature to comment further while the review is underway.”<\/p>\n The spokesperson said it could not provide further details regarding the KPMG contract.<\/p>\n Funding questions remains<\/p>\n The projects were part of an overall $46 million suite of ICT upgrades for Tasmania Police, starting in 2020.<\/p>\n In its answers tabled in parliament, Tasmania Police listed seven projects to reach this figure.<\/p>\n It did not include a $4.1 million infringement notice system upgrade or a $5.47 million interface for Atlas.<\/p>\n The interface project is going through a “proof-of-concept” phase and is intended to be rolled out later this year.<\/p>\n Tasmania Police officers have had to manage with outdated filing systems. (ABC News: Luke Bowden)<\/p>\n Independent upper house MLC Meg Webb, who questioned police about the KPMG contract, said there are “serious probity oversight and accountability concerns” with the project.<\/p>\n She said the settlement deed could prevent the public from knowing why the contract failed.<\/p>\n “This begs the question: how was this was allowed to continue for so long and at such a cost,” Ms Webb said.<\/p>\n “And also, why was it considered necessary or appropriate for these non-disparagement and confidentiality clauses in the state’s settlement agreement when parting ways with the contracted consultancy KPMG?”<\/p>\n Commissioner Adams told parliament that ICT projects have “many curves and hurdles”.<\/p>\n “What has happened for us within this three-year period is the complete transformation of technology, the emergence of AI,” she said.Departments face digital upgrade issues<\/p>\n Tasmania Police is among a range of government departments to face scrutiny over its ICT contract procurement practices.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/56a15eee33f78d2c8dae49566dba968d.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n