Trevor Evans (Brisbane, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to ask the minister to expand on his earlier comments in relation to the role of government as Australian society moves into the digital age and the clear benefits of government services following closely that trend. I'm particularly interested to hear more about how those benefits are being realised through this government's digital transformation agenda. I'm interested to hear the minister indicate what the main priorities are for the Australian government organisations and government agencies in the next six to 12 months to further drive that digital transformation. Minister, what synergies and collaborations are taking place across the government's agencies and, in particular, what collaborations are taking with other players out there such as businesses, particularly those in the start-up ecosystem?

I attended the Myriad Festival in Brisbane last month. I participated and spoke in a national start-up 'policy hack'. Through participating in that, it became very clear to me and everyone else there, I think, that the government sector can continue to learn a great deal from the experiences and the ideas coming up through our start-up sector when it comes to digital transformation, in terms of culture and new ideas and technologies.

MyGov, the online portal that is the centrepiece of government digital transformation, is becoming the primary way that Australians access government services. I certainly support the idea that, instead of filling out endless paperwork, information can be securely stored and prefilled when users access different forms through myGov and the idea that information can be shared across different government areas of services, including linking services like Centrelink, Medicare and the ATO.

I'd be interested to hear the minister's thoughts on the newer statistics for myGov. The last that I heard was that there are now more than a quarter of a million Australians accessing myGov and making transactions through it every single day. If so, it would mean that usage of that service has more than doubled since I was elected almost two years ago, which would prove beyond doubt that there is clear demand and uptake for digital and online government services.

I'd also be interested to hear more about security and privacy under the government's digital transformation agenda, including the way that users can securely verify their identity using Govpass. I understand that the government is working hard to ensure that these platforms protect the privacy and the security of individual Australians.

I'm also interested in hearing more about the benefits of the government's digital transformation agenda for the many students around Brisbane, especially in terms of the efficiencies and the convenience for the thousands of university students who support their studies and supplement their casual incomes with payments like youth allowance. Indeed, I'd be interested to hear the benefits for all Australians in terms of the efficiencies being created in the delivery of government services and the idea that taxpayers can be assured that their tax dollars are able to go even further as those efficiencies are realised. The last time I checked, it was estimated that myGov had already saved about $100 million for Australian taxpayers since it was rolled out.

I noted in the last Digital government transformation report released by Deloitte that there are even greater efficiencies and cost savings to be found through this work. That report stated that the shift towards digital offerings could eventually lead to cost savings of anywhere up to $20 billion or $30 billion for both federal and state governments around Australia over the next 10 years.

I would also be interested in hearing about what is being done to build the digital skills of the Australian Public Service, which I believe is another key element of our digital strategy. As well as embracing and building the technology, it is vital that Australia's professional Public Service staff are confident and capable in utilising it. I'd be interested to hear more about the government's investment of $13.9 million to attract, build and retain digital talent. I'd be interested to know how many participants have been placed into new digital focused roles across agencies. In particular, are senior executive staff receiving training to ensure that they can help lead from the top in the digital transformation?

Lastly, as my time is running out, I'd be interested to hear more about the work being done to ensure that ICT equipment and tools used by our government represent a high return on investment. There are many small businesses and individuals in Brisbane who are very keen to ensure that we are encouraging competition for government ICT contracts, especially from small and medium-sized Australian organisations. I heard just yesterday from Ken Morris, a constituent in New Farm, on this topic. How have we improved our procurement processes to ensure that we can achieve reduced costs and improved efficiencies? Simultaneously, what are we doing to ensure that Australian providers can offer competitive prices and contracts?

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