Ministerial foreword
We live in an age driven by the digital revolution and we thrive in it.
I have a vision of a world-leading digital government that delivers services that are simple, personalised and available wherever you need them. Where Australians choose the data they want to share and we deliver results that meet their needs.
To achieve this we need to change how we do things – for you.
The Digital Transformation Strategy, is our ambitious seven-year vision, which sets the direction of our work to 2025, as we strive to ensure Australia is one of the top three leading digital governments in the world.
There is a Roadmap to help get us there, with key projects and milestones, and we will provide updates on how we are progressing – as we work together, to transform government services.
I am determined to make this vision a reality and we will be working hard with people and businesses to do so, for the benefit of all Australians.
Data and technology continue to change how Australians live, work and prosper.
As a nation, we are confident and early adopters of technology in our personal and business lives. This has contributed to the continued growth we have had for the past 27 years.
Australians expect the same experience interacting with government as they have with innovative, leading private sector organisations. They expect us to meet the highest standards of service delivery, customer experience, simplicity, flexibility and ease of use.
In addition, Australians expect government to be fair and equitable to everyone. We should offer a wide choice for people to access services. They want to go about their lives with the least government intervention. We should protect their data, privacy and security and account for those with particular needs.
When comparing ourselves on the global stage, Australia has a great record of success. Over the last three years we have delivered transformational new services, including:
- Airport SmartGates: The use of SmartGates facial recognition technology rose from 6.8 million passengers in 2014-2015 to 25.9 million in 2017-2018. New SmartGates technology has the potential to enable 90% of travellers to self-process at the border by 2020. This would cut processing time to as little as 15 seconds.
- myTax: We help taxpayers submit their tax returns quicker, easier and free of charge. We pre-fill information provided by employers, banks and government agencies. As at June 2018, we had over 3.5 million returns submitted through myTax during the 2017-2018 financial year.
- Medicare: Patients can have their Medicare claims processed on the spot at a doctor’s office, without needing to visit a shopfront. Almost all Medicare claims (98%) are now done online.
These and other achievements are recognised by the United Nations. We rank second in the world for the effectiveness of our digital government services. However, to keep up with technological change and people and businesses' expectations, we must continue to accelerate our transformation and get even better at what we do.
To achieve that, we have developed the Digital Transformation Strategy. It sets the direction for our work to 2025 for us to be one of the top 3 digital governments in the world for the benefit of all Australians.
The strategy is accompanied by a clear roadmap that includes key projects and milestones to 2020 and some of the major transformation opportunities to 2025.
Over the life of the strategy, we will consider additional ‘signature initiatives’. These are bold and visionary projects that will turbocharge the benefits we deliver for all Australians.
To hold ourselves to account, we will provide a yearly update on what we are delivering to meet Australians’ evolving needs and expectations.
I am confident that the strategy will deliver on our vision. I look forward to working with people and businesses across Australia to accelerate the digital transformation of the government.
The Hon. Michael Keenan MP
Minister for Human Services and Digital Transformation