Data and Digital Government Strategy

The data and digital vision for a world-leading APS to 2030.

Draft for consultation. Alternative versions of the Strategy, including in the 'Easy Read' format and large text, are available for download on our resources page.

Ministers Foreword

The Australian Government is committed to a modern public service that puts people and business at the centre of data and digital transformation.

We live in a rapidly changing world, in which technology touches every part of our daily lives. Recent events such as the pandemic, geopolitical shifts, economic uncertainty and natural disasters have supercharged the adoption of data and digital technologies across Australia. The digital age presents a wealth of opportunities, particularly to enhance the Australian Government’s data and digital ecosystem, to improve how it makes decisions and delivers services to provide better outcomes for all people and business.

The Australian Government’s vision is to implement world class data and digital capabilities to deliver outstanding outcomes for all. To achieve this, the Australian Government will continue to transform itself to be data-informed and digitally-capable to improve our effectiveness, efficiency, transparency and accountability to be fit for the digital age. This is why we have developed the Data and Digital Government Strategy (Strategy), the first combined data and digital strategy for the Australian Government, as a blueprint for the use and management of data and digital technologies through to 2030.

The Australian Government already extensively leverages data and digital capabilities to inform policy development and decision-making to achieve better outcomes.

This Strategy is a call to action for the Australian Public Service (APS) to build on the good work that has brought us to where we are now. It supports our public sector agencies to keep up with technology, invest well, proactively leverage technology and adopt leading-edge data practices. We are highly regarded as a global leader in digital government and in our data settings, which provides a strong base to build upon.

As Minister responsible for the APS and whole of government data and digital, I am committed to putting people and business at the centre of our efforts, ensuring everyone’s experience with the Australian Government is inclusive and accessible, responsive to needs and meets expectations.

I will support the APS to make this happen. This Strategy will be supported by an Implementation Plan, which every APS agency, large or small, will be able to use in working towards our collective 2030 vision.

This is an opportunity for the APS to embark on an important journey, to implement an ambitious plan to bring together and utilise data and digital technologies to improve the entire spectrum of public services, including delivering services, developing policy and protecting the nation.

2030 Vision

The Australian Government will deliver simple, secure and connected public services for all people and business through world class data and digital capabilities.

Simple, secure and connected

The Australian Government will use data and digital technologies to improve its activities, including delivery of services. Maturing APS data and digital capabilities will foster an enhanced culture of innovation and experimentation, enabling greater flexibility and responsiveness, resulting in better outcomes for people and business.

This Strategy brings an APS-wide vision focused on:

• ensuring people and business are at the centre of the Australian Government’s data and digital activities
• progressing the APS’ transition to a policy and implementation environment driven by data and digital technologies
• building and sustaining APS data and digital capabilities.

Opportunities

Data and digital technologies are increasingly critical to the Australian Government’s activities. While this magnifies the positive impact of advances in technologies and their use, it also exacerbates detrimental impacts when they do not align.

There has been rapid improvement in how the APS has adopted and used data and digital technologies in recent years. Continued commitment will lead to even further progress, for example:

• data and digital investment decisions made in awareness of other commitments will lead to more efficient spending
• moving away from outdated and legacy technologies will improve functionality and address cybersecurity vulnerabilities
• greater APS data and digital maturity will improve service delivery, support more-informed decisions, bring greater rigour to policy and program evaluation, and build trust in the APS and the Australian Government
• further advances on interoperability and connected platforms can avoid data being collected multiple times or siloed, with people and business more easily interacting with public services, and opportunities taken to integrate data for much better insights
• data stored on fewer systems can be easier to manage, reducing risk of data breaches and other data and cybersecurity failures.

This Strategy helps align data and digital initiatives across the Australian Government’s strategic and reform agenda, delivering meaningful change.

Accelerating our work to achieve the Strategy’s vision

The COVID-19 pandemic response saw the APS successfully leverage data and digital technologies in new ways and in partnership to solve complex problems quickly. This Strategy builds on the successes and clarity of focus of the last few years to provide APS agencies with clear direction on the Australian Government’s expectations for all activities to be underpinned by appropriate data and digital capability. It recognises the required uplift in skills across the service and identifies the necessity to address lingering outdated technology.

Digital services are the face of modern government, and there is increasing expectation that services should be more inclusive and accessible and organised around the needs of people and businesses and not the structure of Government. The Australian Government commits to improving access to and innovative use of government-held data, including to support broader economic activities. Improved ways to manage, share, integrate and analyse data will deliver new insights and better service delivery, long term policy development and responses to crises.

Measuring success

This Strategy affirms a commitment for APS agencies to work together collaboratively, along with state and territory counterparts, industry, academia and community groups, to identify practical, efficient and effective measures to monitor achievement.

To measure achievement towards the 2030 vision, the Australian Government will establish quantifiable metrics for each of the Strategy’s missions. This will require assessment of the current state, and development and implementation of new initiatives with clear accountabilities and target measures.

A regularly updated Implementation Plan will be developed to accompany the Strategy, outlining initiatives that will achieve progress towards a data-driven, digitally-enabled APS. The Implementation Plan will support shared accountability across APS agencies and emphasise the important role each will play in achieving the Australian Government’s 2030 vision.

The Implementation Plan will include metrics and data to enable tracking of progress against the missions and measures of success. For example, a whole-of-government Data and Digital Maturity Assessment Tool will allow benchmarking and monitoring of agencies’ maturity, and provide a line of sight to international indexes.

The regularly updated Implementation Plan will incorporate reporting on the performance against the strategy since the previous plan and the objectives and measures of the next iteration. This will provide all our stakeholders with an online, transparent scorecard of our progress towards our vision of simple, secure, and connected public services for all people and business with world class data and digital capabilities.

What success looks like

• improved services that are inclusive, accessible and responsive
• integrity and transparency in service delivery which increases trust in the Australian Government
• increased evidence-based policy and decision making
• greater economic value from public and private sector data
• greater usability and availability of public sector data and services that are digital by design
• increased intergovernmental collaboration and interoperable architecture
• greater understanding and implementation of the investment required in data and digital technologies to maximise value
• increased data and digital literacy, competency, and professional capability and capacity for an innovative APS workforce fit for the digital age
• all data and digital activities underpinned by a commitment to privacy, security and ethical approaches. 

Strategy Missions

The missions describe the key objectives and actions of the Australian Government to help us realise our vision to 2030. Delivery of these missions is built upon the enablers. Australian Government agencies will align their data and digital strategies to these missions. Specific initiatives and measures to help us to realise our vision will be outlined in the forthcoming Implementation Plan.

ACTION MISSION 1

Delivering for all People and Business

ACTION MISSION 2

Simple and Seamless Services

ACTION MISSION 3

Government for the Future

FOUNDATION MISSION 4

Trusted and Secure

FOUNDATION MISSION 5

Data and Digital Foundations

ACTION MISSION 1: Delivering for all People and Business

The Australian Government uses data and digital technologies to provide connected and accessible services centered around the needs of people and business. It makes data accessible to people, business, academia and policymakers to enable them to do their work more efficiently. The Australian Government invests in, integrates and analyses data to support informed policy decisions and assess performance of interventions, and it performs its role in a manner inclusive of all cultures and cohorts, enabling improved outcomes.

Maximise the value from data

The APS manages and has access to a vast amount of data however, it is not used to its full extent. Pockets of data excellence exist throughout the APS, but these are not standard across agencies.

Additionally, access remains restricted despite the clear benefits derived from sharing data across public and private sectors.

Making data more accessible and optimising its use through integration, analytics and innovation enables new knowledge and insights to be gained.

The Australian Government commits to:

• sharing data between APS agencies, with state and territory governments, and other users
• working across agencies and with state and territory governments, industry, research and community sectors to identify opportunities to access, integrate, and share data to inform matters of importance at a local and national level
• making non-sensitive data open by default and having formal controls for sharing of more sensitive data under agreements to ensure privacy, security and ethical use
• strengthening the culture of innovation and experimentation around data
• harnessing analytical tools and techniques (including machine learning and artificial intelligence) to predict service needs, gain efficiencies in agency operations, support evidence-based decisions and improve user experience
• designing data for use and re-use
• collecting and analysing data to assess whether policies and services are achieving their intended purpose and are being implemented in the best possible way.

There are already a number of integrated datasets for both households and businesses that are being widely used to inform policy decisions. A key data integration project under development is the National Disability Data Asset, which will integrate data assets across multiple jurisdictions to better understand the lives of people with disability and underpinned by a new infrastructure, known as the Australian National Data Integration Infrastructure, that is being built to enable reuse in other public policy domains.

Embed co-design

The APS will co-design digital solutions to deliver better equity and access outcomes. This will include a Charter of Partnerships and Engagement that makes a promise about how the Australian Government works to ensure the public service is a trusted and transparent partner that puts people and business at the centre of policy, implementation, and delivery. Early engagement and co-design with partners will become how the APS works to ensure voices are heard.

The Digital Service Standard supports a collaborative and human-centred approach and has already made significant progress in government digital service design. For example, the 2021 Census Digital Service was an innovative solution at scale that leveraged the cloud to provide greater accessibility, ease of use, was secure and satisfied Digital Service Standard requirements. A reinvigorated Digital Service Standard will underpin the design of digital services so that no one is left behind.

Digital inclusion and accessibility

Some groups in the community have very limited or no access to the internet and are excluded due to issues of availability, affordability, and digital ability. It is crucial that Australian Government services are delivered to meet the needs of the diverse users who interact with and rely on its services. The Australian Government will ensure everyone, whether they are living with disability, are culturally or linguistically diverse, have limited digital ability, or otherwise, can access and engage with services and programs.

The Australian Government will ensure all people are able to access and benefit from services by:

• committing to omni-channel service delivery to ensure all services that are delivered digitally can also be accessed over the phone or face-to-face such that no-one is excluded
• ensuring all websites and services meet the latest Web Content Accessibility Guidelines
• updating and strengthening the Digital Service Standard to embed accessibility best practice across the APS
• embracing new technologies and leveraging data and insights to increase empathetic service design (e.g. natural language processing to enhance services for non-English speakers).

Australian Government data and digital activities will also support the National Agreement on Closing the Gap targets by enabling and empowering First Nations peoples to increase their say and ownership of data, policies, programs, and services that affect them.

ACTION MISSION 2: Simple and Seamless Services

The APS works as a single unified enterprise by using the right technologies, data, and analytics to simplify how they deliver for people and business. Public services and policies are organised around and tailored to individuals’ circumstances (on an opt-in basis) and the APS uses data and analytics to predict when and where services are needed.

Digital by design

The Australian Government will modernise and embrace digital technologies to improve the use and re-use of data by developing a ‘digital by design’ approach to deliver policies and services for people and business.

Digital usage has grown over recent years, people and business are expecting more from government, such as pre-filling information. The Australian Government will strengthen its commitment to a ‘tell us once’ approach thereby reducing requests for duplicate information.

Data and digital should be embedded throughout the policy lifecycle. The Australian Government will enhance outcomes by embedding a digital by design approach instead of building on analogue methods. To improve the end-to-end experience for people using government services, the Australian Government will expand the adoption of the life events approach.

Standardisation and alignment of models and systems is necessary across all levels of government to provide an improved and familiar experience to people and business. For example, myGov is Australia’s largest government digital platform, with 25 million accounts and more than one million sign-ins each day. It has been critical in delivering essential public services to people throughout the pandemic and recent natural disasters. More must be done to enhance the user experience of services accessed through this and other platforms.

The adoption of the Digital ID ecosystem will broaden digital interactions and improve public services, including those combining access to services across jurisdictions.

Scalable, secure and resilient architecture

The Australian Government’s data and digital ecosystem is constrained by bespoke models and outdated systems, competing priorities and an agency-centric approach to building capability.

Outdated platforms introduce risk, impact data quality, process and integration, and reduce responsiveness to the needs of people and business.

The Australian Government will proactively embrace digital technologies by taking a holistic approach to growing its data and digital capability to ensure sustainability into the future. For the Australian Government’s digital ecosystem to be truly flexible and robust, systems and services must be aligned to agreed capabilities.

To build agility and adaptability into its technology footprint, the Australian Government commits to ensuring all new systems support discoverability, interoperability, and cost-effective access to data and services.

The Australian Government Architecture is a decision making and policy framework that helps agencies develop scalable, secure, and resilient digital capabilities. The architecture enables the Australian Government to deliver frictionless, joined-up services to people and business, make better use of digital investment, improve efficiency, and invest in strategic capabilities such as emerging technology. It will provide a better user experience through cross- agency design and investment decisions. 

ACTION MISSION 3: Government for the Future

The Australian Government is a leader in using new and evolving data and digital technologies in innovative ways to take advantage of opportunities and respond to emerging priorities. The Australian Government will partner domestically and internationally to promote standards and capability to deliver secure and ethical modern data and digital technology.

Proactive adoption of emerging data and digital technologies

Rapid growth in the volume and types of data requires continued monitoring and evaluation of new analytical tools, techniques, and infrastructure to keep up with and meet evolving expectations APS agencies need technology and infrastructure capable of maximising the use and re-use of data, across multiple data environments to support public policy decision-making and improved service delivery amidst an evolving landscape. For example, the Australian Government has committed to reducing the APS’ greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2030 (APS Net Zero) and achieving economy-wide net zero by 2050. The APS will engage with emerging data and digital technologies such as artificial intelligence, quantum and digital twins’ technology.

The Australian Government will continue to use its procurement profile (approximately $9 billion per annum) to better position agencies to adopt critical and emerging technologies whilst contributing to the broader digital economy and supporting Australia’s Cyber Security Strategy.

Australian Government expenditure on Research and Development ($2.3 billion in 2020-21) will support the development of government and sovereign capability in critical technologies, ensuring they remain contemporary whilst boosting economic activity.

Data and digital readiness

Digital transformation is a continuous process and new funding models will be required to support this, providing secure, ongoing funding to support whole-of-government digital and ICT delivery.

New funding models will need to be developed that are tailored to data and digital investments and support greater uptake by the Australian Government.

World leader for harnessing data and digital technology

Australia leads and influences international data and digital standards and continues to support appropriate cross border data flows. Australia remains committed to establishing and growing international partnerships through multinational forums.

The Australian Government will continue strengthening bilateral and plurilateral relationships, including supporting capability uplift in the Asia-Pacific region through secondments and training programs.

By 2030, Australian Government international engagement will focus on priority initiatives such as setting and leading implementation of international data and digital standards, and facilitating data and digital flows that are safe, secure, lawful, ethical and in line with Australia’s values and interests.

Strengthen domestic partnerships

The Australian Government is committed to breaking down barriers and building greater partnerships between the public, private, research and community sectors to build collective expertise and to find new ways to leverage data for social and economic benefit.

Enabling access to and sharing data in a safe and streamlined manner is being enabled through the Intergovernmental Agreement on Data Sharing and Data Availability and Transparency Act 2022, as well as other schemes like the Consumer Data Right.

The Australian Government will invest in new enabling technologies to support even greater access to data from state and territory government and the private sector for efficient and effective sharing and processing. The APS will also embed streamlined governance and data sharing processes to allow government and non-government sectors greater access to timely and accurate data. To support data-sharing partnerships, the APS will identify high value datasets and make these as accessible as possible on an enduring basis. 

FOUNDATION MISSION 4: Trusted and Secure

The Australian Government will partner with people and business to ensure decisions and services are trusted, transparent and ethical, and support people’s choices when engaging with public services. Robust privacy and security settings and a culture of integrity and accountability will ensure people and business are confident their data is safe when using public services and they feel empowered in managing their own data and digital services.

Build and maintain public trust in the Government’s use of data and digital technologies

Trust is at the heart of the Australian Government’s data and digital transformation, as a driver and as an outcome of actions.

The Australian Government will focus on improving and maintaining trust in its use of data and digital through:

• robust and appropriate privacy and security settings – to keep people’s information safe • secure networks, systems and hardware
• transparent and meaningful engagement on data collection, use and sharing– so that people understand what the Australian Government is doing with their information and why
• a strong record of performance and delivery for all – providing responsive and effective outcomes that meet people’s expectations
• supporting the APS to embody best practice engagement - putting in place the right settings and infrastructure to earn and maintain public trust
• development and adoption of data and metadata standards and common data structures
• embedding integrity and ethical consideration in operations – through the adoption of a whole-of-government data ethics framework.

Digital services are increasingly becoming the face of modern government. Digital services help the Australian Government to build trust when done correctly, but erode it when digital services fail, frustrate, or exclude people. Cyber security breaches significantly damage the public’s trust that organisations, including the APS, can adequately manage and secure their personal information.

The Australian Government is committed to the Open Government Partnership and will continue to leverage data and digital technologies to expand public access to data and to enable new ways of engaging with government to promote accountability. The APS will support transparent and open processes through activities such as improved consent models and fair information handling practices that are accessible for all.

Knowing how people’s life experiences impact their use of government services informs how the Australian Government can better support them. Greater transparency of people’s experiences of the APS will be made available through the national Survey of Trust in Australian Public Services, a new annual report, that will include information about individual service delivery agencies.

Legislation fit for the data and digital age

Legislation and regulation have not kept pace with the evolution of data and digital technologies with layers of complexity across jurisdictions.

The Australian Government will continue to review and iterate legislation, strategies, and guidelines to ensure they are fit for purpose and protect the public from emerging cyber threats and other vulnerabilities. This Australian Government is committed to maintaining public trust when entrusted with personal information.

The Australian Government is currently progressing reforms to strengthen privacy protections online and is also conducting a broader review of the Privacy Act 1988 to consider whether its scope and enforcement mechanisms are fit-for-purpose and to ensure its privacy settings better empower consumers, protect their data, and support the digital economy.

Data, digital and cyber security are connected

Data, digital and cyber security are closely intertwined and issues in one area can have material implications for trust in another. Conversely, progress on one area has positive flow-on implications for the other.

The Australian Signals Directorate’s Annual Cyber Threat reports have acknowledged the increasingly contested cyber environment and the need for enduring and adaptive sovereign capabilities to build national cyber resilience, recognising that the threat and technology landscape continues to evolve. Monitoring and acting on security threats and challenges requires concerted effort from all agencies.

The APS must foster a culture of privacy, security, and proactive monitoring across its workforce, including partners that operate within or have access to the digital ecosystem.

The APS should collaborate, share information, and leverage expertise across agencies to actively manage the privacy and security of the digital ecosystem (including with industry partners) to support alignment, consistency, and reduce unnecessary duplication.

A robust Digital ID framework will enable simpler and safer ways for people to access public services and provide more secure ways to share data and enable seamless services across jurisdictions.

Whilst focusing on these improvements in the APS, the Australian Government has an equally important role to play in raising awareness about the need for better ‘cyber hygiene’ measures by the community.

The Australian Signals Directorate leads this by providing advice to individuals on how to manage their own cyber security and partners with business to ensure safe and secure participation in the digital economy.

Managing data incidents and breaches

Despite measures to protect data and digital systems, breaches will still occur. The Australian Government will act to ensure where incidents do occur, their impact is limited, and victims are meaningfully supported.

The Australian Government is modernising and streamlining the patchwork of policies, laws and frameworks that oversee and guide how governments and business safeguard people against harm and what they are required to do when these systems fail.

For example, the new Online Safety Act 2021 strengthens and expands existing laws for online safety, making internet service providers more accountable for the safety of their users.

The Australian Government is also acting to ensure greater responsiveness, transparency and accountability where there are incidents, through measures such as the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme.

This program of work, including a 2023-2030 Cyber Security Strategy, a dedicated Minister for Cyber Security, a National Coordinator for Cyber Security and the associated National Office for Cyber Security will support work to improve Australia’s national resilience to cyber threats as well as responses to cyber incidents. This will help people and business to have the knowledge and support required to engage fully and with confidence online.

FOUNDATION MISSION 5: Data and Digital Foundations

The APS adopts the right capabilities, practices, standards, and culture and makes effective use of data and digital technologies to operate a seamless government. The APS objectively measures and tracks the data and digital maturity of agencies and the APS as a whole and uses results to continuously improve.

Build a data and digitally-capable APS fit for the digital age

Attracting, retaining and developing data and digital skills in the APS workforce has been a longstanding challenge for the Australian Government and the Australian economy more broadly. Nearly half of APS agencies are experiencing skills or labour shortages in data and research jobs, while two-thirds are experiencing shortages in ICT and digital solutions roles. At the same time, demand for data and digital roles are expected to grow rapidly over the next five years with the Australian Government’s vision of 1.2 million tech jobs by 2030.

To attract and retain people with the right skills and remain adaptable and flexible in a data and digital age, the APS will:

• ensure the APS workforce has access to foundational data and digital skills
• develop a whole-of-APS strategic data and digital workforce plan with a focus on future needs and capabilities
• uplift the core skills and capabilities of communication, critical thinking, creativity and problem solving
• share technical experts across agencies
• engage with industry and global experts to stay abreast of the latest tools and technologies.

Grow our data and digital maturity

Data and digital maturity vary widely between APS agencies. Differing levels of maturity slow data driven outcomes, and standardisation of platforms and services. A whole-of-government Data and Digital Maturity Assessment will be developed to help APS agencies understand their data and digital management and use practices, identify capability gaps, and better target critical investments through the prioritisation framework and deployment of resources to achieve the APS vision of uplifting data and digital capabilities.

A standardised approach to tracking agency data and digital maturity delivers upon the intent of the Independent Review of the Australian Public Service to better monitor maturity and benchmark progress toward a digitally-enabled Australian Government by 2030.

Manage data and digital as a valuable asset

Data is one of the most valuable assets the Australian Government holds and needs to be managed in a similar way to other high value assets.

All APS agencies will:

• adopt an agency data and digital approach that outlines a clear vision, a plan for using data, Australian Government Architecture, data and digital lifecycle investment, and cyber security to achieve their organisational objectives
• incorporate appropriate data management and stewardship mechanisms, including identifying roles with specific responsibilities for these functions
• apply best practices for data collection and use to create data assets that support policy development and decision making. For example, the use of gender-disaggregated data collection and analysis to support the Australian Government’s gender equality priorities.

The Australian Government is improving consistency in how it manages its data and digital holdings. The APS is building data inventories across agencies according to agreed metadata standards, reusing existing digital capabilities and strengthening governance mechanisms with state and territory jurisdictions. All data assets managed by the APS will be discoverable.

Technology that is aligned, shared and interoperable

The Australian Government’s data and digital ecosystem is burdened by a high level of fragmentation, reflecting competing priorities and an agency-centric approach to building capability. Duplication is widespread across technology capabilities, including delivery platforms, relationship management tools, productivity solutions, as well as identity and security capabilities.

The APS will ensure there is a whole-of-government focus and commitment to interoperable capabilities through the Australian Government Architecture. The Australian Government’s digital ecosystem will be flexible and robust through implementing systems and services aligned to agreed capabilities. Standardisation unlocks opportunities for easy sharing and integration of data, collaboration, and reuse across agencies.

Adopting appropriate common standards is fundamental to achieving a data-driven and digitally-enabled APS. Standards ensure hardware and software are interoperable and can work together seamlessly.

At the international level, the Australian Government will continue to align with multilateral organisations to promote free and transparent standards. These multilateral forums develop standards for computer, wireless technology, and the world wide web which have come to underpin much of the global social, financial and economic fabric.

Strategy Enablers

The enablers are the building blocks that underpin the success of the whole Strategy and are essential to achieving its missions. Four critical enablers have been identified.

1. People Capability
2. Cyber Security
3. Governance
4. Investment

1. People Capability

The APS will have the right people, with the right skills at the right time.

The APS will uplift capability across the service and accelerate the Data and Digital professional streams and the Cyber Security National Workforce Growth Program.

The Australian Government will accelerate the work commenced under the Data and Digital Professional Streams (part of the APS Professions Framework) and have a structured way to build and uplift the core data and digital expertise of leadership and the workforce, and specialist expertise.

2. Cyber Security

The Australian Government will ensure the safety and security of operations through effective implementation of the Information Security Manual, Protective Security Policy Framework and the Essential Eight Mitigations.

These mechanisms work together to form the basis from which safety and security are maintained in systems and technology, so that the Australian Government remains a trusted custodian of sensitive information.

3. Governance

The Australian Government has strong governance mechanisms in place to coordinate cross agency efforts and with state and territory governments. This includes inter-jurisdictional forums like the Data and Digital Ministers Meeting and cross-APS bodies such as the Secretaries’ Digital and Data Committee. These and other governance bodies will work to:

• align the Strategy, missions and data and digital investments
• make agencies accountable for promoting integration with state and territory governments.

Governance mechanisms will also be used to ensure the Strategy remains relevant, with periodic reviews incorporating feedback from government, people, business and academia.

4. Investment

The Australian Government has already made significant investment in foundational data and digital capabilities. Further investment is required to ensure the Australian Government keeps pace with the expectations of citizens. Investment decisions will be underpinned by:

• the Digital Investment Oversight Framework, which provides whole-of-government and whole-of-lifecycle oversight to data and digital investments to ensure every dollar spent delivers benefits to people and business
• the Australian Government Architecture, which assists the APS to align procurement activities and reduce duplication of effort by sharing capabilities.

State and territory governments and the private sector also play an important role in developing innovative digital products and services and will form part of the investment consideration. The Australian Government will consider the impacts of new policies, investments, or regulations on the market, supporting pro-competition outcomes. 

Next Steps

Where to from here?

From June 2023, the Data and Digital Government Strategy will enter its second phase.

This phase will involve extensive stakeholder engagement seeking input and feedback from across the APS, state and territory governments, and from industry, academia and community groups on how the Australian Government can improve and expand on the Initial Strategy.

The Australian Government will also seek views on meaningful actions to help achieve the Strategy’s vision by 2030 for inclusion in the accompanying Implementation Plan.

How can you contribute?

If you or your organisation would like to be involved in the Strategy’s next phase, please visit dataanddigital.gov.au

FIGURE 1: DATA AND DIGITAL POLICY LANDSCAPE DIAGRAM

The Data and Digital Policy Landscape Diagram (Figure 1) depicts the relationship between the Data and Digital Government Strategy and APS Reform, between the Data and Digital Government Strategy and the Australian Government Architecture, Digital Investment Oversight Framework, Trusted Digital Identity Framework and Digital Service Standard. The Data and Digital Government Strategy also has linkages with the Data Availability and Transparency Act, Cyber Security Strategy and Critical Technologies Hub. The Protective Security Policy Framework and Australian Government Information Security Manual are linked to the Cyber Security Strategy and the Data and Digital Government Strategy.

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