First the brutal stuff; if you’re an out of work IT professional, you’re probably not going to find the right job this side of Christmas and contractors should take what they can find. The flip side is you can relax and enjoy the summer - as long as you carve some time to freshen up the CV, line up good strong referees, polish up your soft skills and dry clean your suit ready for a February kick off.

The Australian Computer Society (ACS) has made a raft of new appointments to its executive, electing a new president, vice president membership boards, national treasurer and three national congressional representatives.

The Victorian Government has unveiled its new $85 million plan to support continuing growth, development and global competitiveness in Victoria’s ICT sector, and promote ICT-enabled innovation across the state’s economy.

Guess which is the most hairy chested sector to work in as an ICT professional? Clue: it’s not mining and it’s not defence.

The Australian Computer Society Foundation (ACSF) will focus on software development projects and research for ICT companies now it has been recognised as an eligible research organisation under the Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research’s Enterprise Connect, Researchers in Business program.

The get rich quick era of the ICT sector is well and truly over. Although Australian ICT salaries increased 4 per cent in the year to May, which was an improvement over their performance in 2010, it was shy of the 4.3 per cent salary improvement enjoyed across the wider economy as tracked by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

The Australian ICT industry's three peak bodies have joined forces to bring their respective national awards under the banner of the well known iAwards program, created by the Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA) in 1995.

The Government's National Digital Economy Strategy has received a generally positive response from key IT and communications organisations.

The Australian Computer Society has welcomed the attention given to skills and education in the Federal budget but wants a more detailed strategy for the ICT sector.

The Australian Computer Society (ACS) has engaged Talent2 to find it a new CEO. Hopefully the successful candidate will last longer in the job than his or her predecessors.