Queensland to seek damages from IBM over health payroll system

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The Queensland Government will lodge a statement of claim against IBM Australia as it tries to recoup losses from the $1.2 billion health payroll debacle.

Thousands of Queensland Health staff were unpaid or paid incorrectly under the payroll scheme ordered by the previous Labor Government.

A statement of claim will be served against the company on Monday.

Premier Campbell Newman said his government was committed to recovering some of the cost.

“We intend to take the matter further,” he said.

“Queenslanders were wronged, we believe, in the pay affair, and we intend to do what we can to recover money – for them, the taxpayers, the men and women and Queensland.”

Last year, the commission of inquiry into the Queensland Health payroll system found the State Government could not recover any money from IBM because the former Labor government had settled with the company.

The inquiry found the system failure was partly the fault of public servants who failed to manage the project properly.

IBM admitted last year that as the prime contractor for the upgrade, it bore some responsibility for the payroll system’s failure.

But the company said most of the blame belonged to bureaucrats who did not tell IBM what was needed to make the system function.

The inquiry found the former Labor government surrendered its ability to sue IBM for breach of contract when it settled with the company after the failure.

Mr Newman did not say why the Government’s position had changed over the pursuit of damages from IBM.