When the Australian bushfires impacted lives, those affected could begin a renewed life much faster owing to the way Australia delivered its citizen services. By facially verifying citizens within minutes, providing financial assistance to them in their bank account rapidly, and enabling authorisations to banks to recreate their identity without much wait times. This is just the beginning of what the new face of governement will be: smart, simple and personalised.
Australia is leading the way in transforming public services: applications that are unified, interactions that are defined by intelligence, and access that is seamless – all with accelerated outcomes. This vision is being driven by Hon. Stuart Robert MP, Minister for Government Services, Australia, Minister of National Disability Insurance Scheme. At Confluence, the leader shared insights into the journey: from new structures to new standards.
Enhanced systems allow us to do things better, quicker, and more consistently. But they are not an end to themselves. Any service delivery must be built around the convenience of people and resolving around their contexts.
Getting there faster, and getting there with a result. Agile is not just about crunching cycle times, but also actualising a part of the broader vision. Every 90-day sprint should be measured by tangible differences: is the change real?
Weeding out inconsistency starts with a singular architecture. One that is adaptable, scalable and suitable for re-use across the government or enterprise. From business rules to payments, a unified engine can drive multiple transformations.
Can the interactions at a government assistance centre be like an Apple store? Should a citizen app be what other apps are rated against? Big transformations need bold ambitions and partnerships committed to raising the bar.
It's important though that as we deliver on our technology commitments, we can't lose sight of the fact that when it comes to government, the acceleration in tech is all about delivering outcomes for Australians.