This year, in conjunction with the Canberra OpenGov Leadership Forum, 7 government agencies were recognised for using technology to improve
citizen engagement and public service delivery. 

Recipients of this year’s
Recognition of Excellence awards were:

(1) Australian Digital Health Agency

OpenGov recognised
the Australian Digital Health Agency (the Agency) for driving the nationwide
rollout of My Health Record across Australia to provide potentially lifesaving
access to clinical reports of medications, allergies, laboratory tests, and
chronic conditions.  

The Australian
government allocated A$374.2 million in its 2017-18 Budget to be invested over
two years, for the nationwide rollout of an opt-out model of My Health Record
and to ensure every Australian is a part of it, unless they choose not to be.
Since then significant progress has been made towards achieving this vision.

In June 2017,
the Agency released a Request for Tender (RFT) to develop a Strategic
Interoperability Framework for Australia, with the objective of contributing to
the deployment of a seamless digital health eco-system. The Agency is working
with clinical information systems (CIS) vendors to develop nationally-scalable,
secure electronic messaging between healthcare providers.

The Agency has
also initiated a pilot project for the use of My Health Record in hospital
emergency departments, in partnership with the Australian Commission on Safety
and Quality in Health Care (ACSQHC).

In August
2017, the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) Health Council approved
Australia’s National Digital Health strategy (2018-2022). The delivery of a My
Health Record for every Australian underpin several of the priorities in the
Strategy.

In March 2018, the Agency released drafted a
Framework for Action to support the strategy’s implementation. The Framework
for Action sets out priority activities for co-development for the period
2018-2022 and defines the roles of participants, including healthcare
consumers, healthcare providers, the industry and technology sector, peak
organisations, the Agency, the Commonwealth Government and the State and
territory governments. 

As part of the Action Plan, My Health Record will be
continuously improved, with scoping, building, testing and executing system
releases planned over the life of the Strategy to provide additional
functionality and health information. 

The usability of clinical information
systems will be improved to ensure the My Health Record integrates more
intuitively, based on the development of an evidence-based design research
framework. Another priority action in the area is to establish a framework to
govern the safe and secure use of My Health Record system data.

(2) Data61 and (3) Defence Science and Technology Group

OpenGov recognised
Data61 and the Defence Science and Technology Group for the Cross-Domain
Desktop Compositor (CDDC) which gives users access to multiple computer
networks through a single interface, streamlining workflow without compromising
security or usability.

Currently,
government and defence staff use multiple segregated computer networks to
maintain and protect classified data. Complications arise as staff need to
access multiple networks concurrently to view and transfer data between
systems. Market solutions usually provide a trade-off between security and
usability. Those that favour usability over security are generally vulnerable
to cyber-attacks. In contrast, those that favour security over usability
prohibit simultaneous access to data from multiple domains on the same screen.

Powered by
Data61’s seL4 microkernel operating system and DSTG’s hardware security
innovation, the CDDC provides a seamless, fully integrated, secure system to
fulfil the needs of usability and security and allows for additional
functionality like controlled data transfer and copy-and-paste using intuitive
design. It will also be interoperable with existing desktop infrastructure, and
cheaper than traditional low- to medium assurance products.

While defence is
the first focus market for the CDDC, it has broad applications across
government and enterprise, as well critical infrastructure, banking, health and
autonomous systems.

(4) Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

OpenGov recognised
the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet for the National Cities
Performance Framework Dashboard.

Since late 2017,
the National Cities Performance Framework supports the Australian Government's
Smart Cities Plan by providing a snapshot of the productivity and progress of
Australia’s largest 21 cities plus Western Sydney, by key indicators like Jobs
and Skills; Infrastructure and Investment; Liveability and Sustainability;
Innovation and Digital Opportunities; Governance, Planning and Regulation; and
Housing.

It is the first
official framework of its kind in Australia and brings together critical data
on Australian cities in an easily accessible online format. The Performance
Framework also assists all levels of government, industry and the community to
better target, monitor and evaluate cities policy and investments, including
through City Deals.

This Framework
is in line with the Australian Government’s commitment to open and accessible
data sharing. The Performance Framework is a living resource to be improved
over time through annual updates and three yearly reviews. This will ensure it
continues to reflect best available information and provides a strong evidence
base to guide new investments and reforms in Australian cities."

(5) National Blood Authority

OpenGov recognised
the National Blood Authority (NBA) for the transformation of its digital
platform for ordering and receiving blood and blood products.

The NBA manages
the ordering of blood and blood products around Australia. It operates a
24-hour service to ensure that essential life-saving blood and blood products
get to where they’re needed. Approximately 28,000 litres of blood are ordered
and tracked through its platform each month.

An online system
for ordering and tracking blood products called ORBS (Ordering, Receipting
Blood System) was developed by the Queensland Department of Health first
developed in 2009. This was proposed to the NBA as a national system in 2010. A
bespoke application called BloodNet was developed. 

The BloodNet
version 5 was developed to not only upgrade the technology and platforms, but
also create a new look user interface. The NBA relied on the DTA’s Digital
Service Standard to ensure its services are simple, clear, and in line with
user’s needs. During the development process, it brought a multi-disciplinary
team in-house and upskilled internal staff. The team adapted to agile
principles, tools and techniques, and held fortnightly sprints, daily
stand-ups, regular walk-throughs and responded to feedback. A total of 187
hours of user research was conducted during the discovery and alpha stages,
which included visiting 138 people across 39 hospitals/laboratories in 9
different cities.

Through this
process, the team designed a simpler platform that makes it faster and easier
for hospitals to order and receive life-saving blood products. It became the
first agency — that is required to use the Digital Service Standard — to pass
its alpha assessment independently. The product is in Beta and the team is
working on ensuring the system is built for longevity and ease of maintenance;
setting up release process and transition plans for users; identifying
appropriate metrics and KPIs for the performance dashboard; and continuing user
research and testing to make sure we are on the right track.

(6) National Library of
Australia

OpenGov recognised
the National Library of Australia (the Library) for its Digital Library
Infrastructure Replacement (DLIR) Program.

The Program
which concluded in July 2017, laid strong foundations for the Library to deal
with the requirements of a digital era. The Library simplified and streamlined
the way it collects, manages, preserves and delivers its collections as part of
the transformation.

An increasing
number of publishers today are producing content electronically, either
producing just electronic copy or both print and electronic. Now the Library
provides a system for them to deposit content in electronic format, easily and
automatically as they are published. The system also provides batch deposit
functionality, allowing publishers to deposit multiple items at once. The
new system saves time for everyone and leads to easier preservation and
management.

DLIR also
exceeded expectations in workflow efficiency improvement through automation and
systems integration. In some cases, the Library has achieved 100 times increase
in productivity. The time it takes between receiving an item from a journal or
a creator to when is actually published by the Library, has been reduced from
weeks or months to hours in some cases.

Now the Library
to looking to build on this foundation. The Library is also exploring emerging
technologies such as machine learning for content description and improving
accessibility. It is also looking to improve the Library’s online presence by
making services easier to use and more attractive.

(7) National Transport Commission

OpenGov recognised
the National Transport Commission (NTC) for reforming the regulatory
environment to promote the testing and development of automated vehicles in
Australia.

In late 2016,
Australian transport ministers agreed to a phased reform program at the federal
level to allow conditionally automated vehicles to operate safely and legally
on roads before 2020, and highly and fully automated vehicles from 2020. Since
then, the NTC is delivering this roadmap of reform through a phased approach.

Last year, in
May, NTC has developed national guidelines governing conditions for trials of
automated vehicles. In November 2017, national enforcement guidelines were
developed to clarify regulatory concepts of control and proper control for
different levels of driving automation.

This year, NTC
is supporting jurisdictions in reviewing injury insurance schemes to identify
any eligibility barriers for occupants of an automated vehicle, or those
involved in a crash with an automated vehicle. It aims to develop legislative
reform options to clarify the application of current driver and driving laws to
automated vehicles, and to establish legal obligations for automated driving
system (ADS) entities. NTC will design and develop a safety assurance regime
for automated road vehicles by November 2018.

NTC will also
work with jurisdictions to review current exemption powers to ensure
legislation can support on-road trials, so that all Australian jurisdictions
are able to support automated vehicle trials. Such efforts by the NTC is
expected to encourage national and international industry leaders to develop
this emerging technology in Victoria – which means more jobs and opportunities
for Australians.

Feature image: JJ Harrison / CC BY-SA 3.0