In a speech at the National Press Club, the Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Digital Transformation, Michael Keenan, laid out the Australian Government's vision for its digital transformation agenda.
With the fourth industrial revolution in full swing, governments need to also transform their ways of citizen engagement and service delivery, Minister Keenan said in his speech, referring to examples such as Denmark, where all citizens have an online account to communicate electronically with their government.
His address to the Australian Information Industry Association, sets the bar high with the ambitious target of Australia to become one of the top three digital governments in the world by 2025.
To this end, the Digital Transformation Agency (DTA) established in 2015 to drive the vision of an 'agile and innovative' government is developing a Digital Transformation Strategy. Accompanied by a roadmap that sets out milestones for the next 2 years the strategy is expected to be released in Quarter 3 of this year.
At its core will be a new digital identity system, an authentication system for secure interactions between users and government services. The system will be underpinned by a Trusted Digital Framework, the second part of which was released 12 June for public comment (closing date 12 July 2018).
The Trusted Digital Identity Framework will include two distinct platforms:
Initially, there will be only one identity provider, the government's myGovID (formerly known as AUSid), but other providers, such as the Australia Post, are encouraged to become accredited.
Minister Keenan also provided details about upgrades to the Government's digital service delivery, including through the integration of blockchain technology, artificial intelligence and data analytics.
For example, the Government has committed $700,000 towards exploring the potential of blockchain for government payments.
A cornerstone of the digital future vision is to improve the procurement process of ICT and digital services, with Minister Keenan noting the barriers small and medium businesses currently face in "breaking into the government procurement sector.
He announced the release of a new Digital Framework that builds on last year's ICT Procurement Taskforce Report. The Framework includes, for example, a Capped Term and Value Policy that limits major ICT expenditure to $100 million per contract or a three-year initial term.
The Framework also includes a central tool of procurement, the Digital Marketplace, which was set up under the National Innovation and Science Agenda. According to the Minister, contracts worth in total $125 million have been awarded through the marketplace to date. He also announced that the DTA will expand the Digital Marketplace with a new Training Marketplace that will focus on training and development expertise.