Western Australia shifts to digital innovation

• ​State’s first whole-of-government ICT strategy released
• Reforms aim to save time and money for individuals, businesses and communities
• Plans include single State Government web portal
• Target of 75% of Government-related public transactions completed online by 2020

Western Australia’s inaugural information and communications technology (ICT) strategy aims to use continuous advances in technology to lower the cost of Government services for taxpayers.

Releasing the whole-of-government Digital WA strategy today, Innovation Minister Bill Marmion said it was a practical vision to give West Australians easier access to quality services, whenever and wherever it was convenient for them.

“Imagine having secure and relevant State Government services available through a single web portal anywhere, anytime and on any device – your computer, mobile phone or tablet – without the need to attend or call a Government office,” Mr Marmion said.

“From simply paying bills online to obtaining the latest information and data on everything Government that matters to you, that is the Digital WA promise once fully implemented.

“Digital WA will also help entrepreneurs and start-up companies flourish, as they use Government open data sources to produce new products and services to meet the evolving needs of the community.”

The Minister said the Digital WA strategy would guide those changes over the next four years.

“Our ICT bywords are innovation, collaboration and transformation and work has already started to ensure the success of the strategy,” he said

“In November last year, I launched the GovNext-ICT initiative which will improve how Government agencies pay for, and use, technology across the public sector.

“GovNext-ICT helps agencies to migrate into the cloud, reduces the cost of running and maintaining systems, and connects all agencies into a single Government-wide network, enabling synergies to be realised that were previously impossible.”

Mr Marmion said Digital WA aimed to curb growth in the State Government’s current $1 to $2 billion annual ICT spend.

“The targets and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) in the strategy are ambitious, but reflect the Government’s strong commitment to delivering enhanced digital services to West Australians,” he said.

“One of these KPIs is to have 75 per cent of all Government-related transactions completed online by the public by 2020.”

With the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer leading the collaboration across the State’s more than 100 agencies, the shift to common platforms and the leveraging of cloud services will enable agencies to be more agile and responsive to the changing needs of the community.

The Minister said the public was increasingly comfortable with online information and transactions.

“The Digital WA strategy will accelerate the pace of digital transformation across the public sector, which will ultimately benefit all West Australians in accessing and using Government services,” he said.

Fact File

• Digital WA is available online at http://gcio.wa.gov.au/initiatives/digital-wa-state-ict-strategy/
• The Digital WA strategy is for the period 2016-20 and was developed in consultation with the public sector and the ICT industry
• It is supported by policies on cloud, disaster recovery, digital security, interoperability and digital services
• Digital WA will give clear direction to Government agencies in their planning, investment and use of ICT, driving the delivery of projects on time and on budget
• The Office of the Government Chief Information Officer was established on July 1, 2015
• The office was required to deliver a whole-of-government ICT Strategy by July 2016