Roadmap

Digital Transformation Agency

The DTA has updated the Digital Service Standard (the Standard) to better support agencies to create and maintain digital services that are user-friendly, inclusive, adaptable and measurable.

Version 2.0 of the Standard sets the requirements for agencies to design and deliver digital services, by putting people and business in the centre of government digital service delivery.

The number of criteria has been reduced to 10 compared to 13 in the former version, released in 2016. The changes reflect the Government’s increased level of digital maturity and adoption of trust and protection principles and strengthens inclusion and accessibility requirements, so that no one is left behind when accessing government’s digital services.

Deliverables

• A new Digital Service Standard (due December 2023).
• Reporting framework for measuring success.
• Exemptions policy for digital services that are unable to meet the requirements.

Timeframe

• Released 2023-24

Primary outcome

Embed co-design

Additional outcomes

Embed inclusion and accessibility

Be digital by design

Build a data and digital-capable APS

Linked initiatives

myGov User Audit government response

National Indigenous Australians Agency

The Framework for the Governance of Indigenous Data (the Framework) aims to improve the accessibility, relevance, interpretability, and timeliness of government-held data for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

The Framework sets out four guidelines for APS agencies to build strong governance over their indigenous data holdings, including partnering with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, building data-related capabilities, providing knowledge of data assets, and building an inclusive data system. The Framework was designed in partnership between the APS and Indigenous leaders.

The Framework provides a stepping stone towards greater awareness and acceptance by Government agencies of the principles of Indigenous Data Sovereignty, and will embed areas of data governance where the objectives of the Indigenous Data Sovereignty movement and the Australian Government align.

Deliverables

• APS-wide framework for the Governance of Indigenous Data

Timeframe

• In development

Primary outcome

Embed co-design

APS Reform Office

The Charter of Partnerships and Engagement is the Australian Government’s public commitment to break down barriers and harness external perspectives and capability by asking the APS to be open, responsive, transparent, accountable, informed, and collaborative with people, communities and business.

The Charter sets clear expectations of how good partnerships and engagement should be used to build trust in the APS as a transparent partner that puts people and business at the centre of policy, implementation, and delivery. The Charter is a response to the Government’s APS Reform Agenda, the 2019 Independent Review of the APS and the National Agreement on Closing the Gap.

Deliverables

• A government commitment to genuine partnership and engagement in policy making and service delivery with the public.

Timeframe

• Ongoing

Primary outcome

Strengthen partnerships

Additional outcomes

Tell us once

Build and maintain trust

Office of the National Data Commissioner

The Office of the National Data Commissioner (ONDC) is developing an Australian Government Data Catalogue that will serve as a central point to facilitate discovery, use and re-use of government-held data. The Catalogue will increase the transparency of government-held data holdings, reduce duplication, and enable greater re-use and sharing of data.

The Catalogue will draw on agency data inventories developed through the Data Inventories Pilot Program (DIPP), as well as open and other data sources to help users find Australian Government data. Under the DIPP, the ONDC is working with Australian Government agencies to help them discover their data and to develop a standardised list of data assets they hold - known as a data inventory.

Deliverables

• An Australian Government Data Catalogue

Timeframe

• 2023-24

Primary outcome

Maximise value from data

Additional outcomes

Manage data as a valuable national asset

Linked initiatives

Data.gov.au

Data Inventory Pilot Program

Department of Social Services

Australian Bureau of Statistics

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare

The Australian Government, in collaboration with the states and territories, is developing the Australian National Data Integration Infrastructure (ANDII) as an underlying infrastructure and governance system to support data sharing, integration and national linkage. The ANDII comprises a National Linkage Spine, National Linkage Model, data governance, streamlined data sharing arrangements and a cloud-based ICT solution to connect data from all Australian jurisdictions in an efficient, scalable, and secure way. The ANDII ICT solution will also provide contemporary tools for data preparation, analysis, and management.

The ANDII is the underlying infrastructure for the enduring National Disability Data Asset but is being designed for use in other policy domains as required. The ANDII uses the Data Availability and Transparency Act 2022 Scheme and commitments in the Intergovernmental Agreement on Data Sharing.

Deliverables

• Australian National Data Integration Infrastructure

Timeframe

• January 2022 to December 2025

Primary outcome

Maximise value from data

Additional outcomes

Connect data, digital and cyber security

Linked initiatives

National Disability Data Asset

Data Availability and Transparency Act 2022 Scheme

Intergovernmental Agreement on Data Sharing

Department of Finance

Australian Taxation Office

Services Australia

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission

The Australian Government is investing in its Digital ID Program to support the use of Digital ID across Commonwealth, state, and territory and private sector services. A broad range of government services are already benefiting from the enhanced user experience and efficiency that Digital ID can provide.

By progressing enabling legislation and investment, the Program is embedding strong privacy and security protections for people when they choose to use Digital ID to verify their identity online. Further funding is for relevant regulators such as the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) as the Digital ID regulator and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) for privacy oversight, ATO's myGovID, the Services Australia identity exchange, future policy development, and measures to increase broader identity resilience and use of the Government’s identity matching services.

Deliverables

• Progressing Digital ID legislation
• Implementing regulatory oversight
• Continued investment in the Australian Government Digital ID system

Timeframe

• Ongoing

Primary outcome

Be digital by design

Additional outcomes

Connect data, digital and cyber security

Linked initiatives

Digital ID legislation

Australian Digital Health Agency

Consistent with the National Digital Health Strategy, the Australian Government is modernising the infrastructure that underpins Australia’s digital health ecosystem. It is providing better support to individuals and their healthcare providers by increasing the amount of health information that is available in real-time and better connecting data across different parts of the healthcare system. The Australian Government’s broader digital health modernisation agenda include the release of the My Health App, uplifting the My Health Record data platform to enable increased uploading of health information in data-rich formats, and bringing in new partners to the My Health Record ecosystem such as Allied Health and Aged Care providers. The establishment of a National Health Information Exchange for improving intra-jurisdictional health information flows will deliver national infrastructure that drives secure and effective digital interoperability.

Deliverables

• Modernisation of national digital health infrastructure including My Health Record and a National Health Information Exchange capability

Timeframe

• Ongoing

Primary outcome

Be digital by design

Linked initiatives

Intergovernmental Agreement on National Digital Health

Strengthening Medicare Taskforce report and Government response.

Department of the Treasury

The Australian Centre of Evaluation will improve the volume, quality, and impact of the evaluations across the Australian Public Services (APS), and work in close collaboration with evaluation units in other departments and agencies. It will help ensure government programs deliver value for money. It will put evaluation evidence at the heart of policy design and decision making.

Deliverables

• Embedding evaluation processes into policy development lifecycle

Timeframe

• Ongoing

Primary outcome

Modernise investment approaches

Digital Transformation Agency

The DTA will conduct a pilot to design effective performance monitoring for digital services at a whole-of-government level. This will allow the DTA to understand the overall performance of digital services for a whole of system view, provide more comprehensive advice on investment decisions, and measure the implementation of the Strategy.

Over a 6 month period, the DTA will conduct the pilot with selected agencies to confirm if the proposed performance measures will provide the insights needed to support data-led decision making that the proposed measures provide insights to understand the overall performance of digital services for a whole of system view, provide more comprehensive advice on investment decisions and measure the implementation of the Strategy.

Deliverables

• Insights and recommendations on the proposed measures.
• A monitoring framework, process and implementation plan.

Timeframe

• Pilot from 2023-24

Primary outcome

Maximise value from data

Additional outcomes

Be digital by design

Modernise investment approaches

Manage data as a valuable national asset

Linked initiatives

myGov User Audit government response

Department of Finance

Australian Taxation Office

Data Champions Network

A whole-of-government Data Ethics Framework will provide guidance for the APS on best practice for ethical considerations relating to public data use and provide advice on implementation across different major use cases and agency operations.

The Framework will identify next steps for extending beyond current data uses as new technologies emerge and are adopted. It will complement products applying to specific use areas, including the Government’s Interim guidance on generative AI for government agencies and the National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research. Adoption of a common data ethics framework across all APS agencies will help agencies safely and appropriately expand their use of data in new and innovative ways while building trust with the public that their data is being used in ethical ways.

Deliverables

• Data Ethics Framework for the APS

Timeframe

• 2023-24 to 2025-26

Primary outcome

Build and maintain trust

Linked initiatives

National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research

SES Accountabilities for Data

Building Trust in the Public Record policy

Office of the Australian Information Commissioner

The Australian Government is prioritising protection of personal information by providing the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner with more resources to progress investigations and enforcement actions in response to privacy and data breaches and enhance its data and analytics capability.

Strengthening and streamlining investigations and enforcement through the Notifiable Data Breaches Scheme will increase the public’s trust in the Government as a data custodian and ensure community expectations are met. This is one element of the Australian Government’s Stronger Privacy Protection and Enforcement commitment in the 2023-24 Budget.

Deliverables

• Strengthen privacy protections and enforcement for breaches

Timeframe

• 2023-24 to 2026-27

Primary outcome

Build and maintain trust

Additional outcomes

Connect data, digital and cyber security

Linked initiatives

Government Response to the Privacy Act 1998 Review

Attorney-General’s Department

The Australian Government will strengthen the framework for the protection of personal information to reduce privacy risks to individuals. Individuals will be provided with more transparency about what is being done with their information and will have more control over what happens with it. By updating the Privacy Act 1988 to respond to the growth of data and digital technology, the Government will have a stronger privacy framework to maintain social license and build trust.

The Government will engage with the states and territories to work towards harmonising key elements of Commonwealth, state, and territory privacy laws.

Deliverables

• Amendments to the Privacy Act 1988

Timeframe

• In development

Primary outcome

Modernise legislation

Additional outcomes

Build and maintain trust

Department of Finance

The Australian Government will develop a whole-of-government Data Governance Framework to define common rules, processes, and accountabilities for adoption across the APS to ensure privacy and compliance of government data is maintained. The Framework will provide APS agencies with direction on how to ensure the quality, integrity, security, discoverability, accessibility, and useability of data assets.

The Framework will be centred on four foundational pillars of data governance: data quality; data privacy; data authority; and data innovation.

Deliverables

• A whole-of-government framework

Timeframe

• 2025-26

Primary outcome

Manage data as a valuable national asset

Additional outcomes

Grow APS maturity

Australian Public Service Commission

The Workforce Plan represents an enterprise-wide view on how to equip the APS workforce to tackle immediate and emerging skills required for digital technologies. It will identify a suite of actions under key principles to guide Australian Government agencies to empower and skill their workforce with the capabilities needed to thrive in the digital space.

It will build on the foundational work of the APS Workforce Strategy Action 2 – Embrace data, technology, and flexible and responsive workforce models, tailoring the plan with a digital focus. It will embed strategies to assist Australian Government agencies to build on current APS capabilities and grow our digital workforce to meet future demand.

Deliverables

• A strategic digital workforce plan

Timeframe

• 2023-24 to 2025-26

Primary outcome

Build a data and digital-capable APS

Additional outcomes

Grow APS maturity

Linked initiatives

APS Digital Profession

APS Reform Agenda Pillar 4

Australian Public Service Commission

The APS Capability Investment Fund is an innovative approach to investing in the organisational capability of the APS. Round One successfully funded 10 projects across six (6) focus areas, including: embedding evaluation across the service; improving gender impact analysis in policy; and developing APS capability in foresight, scenario and futures analysis.

Round Two will seek funding to address key APS-wide challenges, including enhancing data analytic and policy integration capabilities and building APS understanding of artificial intelligence application in the public sector.

Deliverables

• Funding for key projects to address identified challenges

Timeframe

• 2023-24

Primary outcome

Build a data and digital-capable APS

Linked initiatives

APS Data Profession

APS Digital Profession

Department of Finance

The SES Accountabilities for Data initiative helps agencies empower their data leaders, treat data as an asset, make data driven decisions and build appropriate data literacy and capability. The report outlines six principles to strengthen data governance; including that agencies have a data strategy, a Chief Data Officer (CDO), a Data Champion, and all SES officers have data accountabilities.

Embedding the six accountability principles into their operations and governance arrangements will give agencies greater oversight of their data holdings, enabling more effective, efficient, economical, and ethical management of data, and leading to better policy, programs, and services for Australians.

This report is accompanied by a regularly updated CDO Information Pack to help APS CDOs understand their responsibilities, the Commonwealth data ecosystem and its underpinning governance arrangements.

Deliverables

• The SES Accountabilities for Data Report and Placemat

Timeframe

• Published 2023-24

Primary outcome

Build a data and digital-capable APS

Additional outcomes

Grow APS maturity

Department of Finance

The Australian Government is developing a Data Maturity Assessment Tool (the Tool) to help APS agencies self-assess their data maturity at each stage of the data lifecycle. The Tool will be released in 2024-25 for annual completion by in-scope government agencies. The Tool’s results will help agencies understand and strengthen their data capabilities, identify their capability gaps, compare their progress against other agencies over time and support cross-agency activities. The Tool will also provide evidence of the data maturity of the APS as a whole to support decision making and target investment.

The Tool will align with and complement existing mechanisms and will be an important source of metrics to measure progress towards the Strategy’s 2030 vision.

Deliverables

• A Data Maturity Assessment Tool and supporting Guide

Timeframe

• Released 2024-25

Primary outcome

Grow APS maturity

Linked initiatives

Data and Digital Government Strategy