The Innovation and ICT Minister of Western Australia recently launched the new Digital Strategy for the Western Australian Government 2021-2025: Convenient, smart and secure services for all Western Australians. The new Digital Strategy will help State Government agencies improve the way they deliver services – making it easier and safer for WA people and businesses to interact with the government.
The Digital Strategy will drive better service delivery by integrating and streamlining government services and regulatory processes. Government operations will be reoriented around the needs of people and businesses – rather than the structures of government.
Government decisions and services should be informed by data. The Digital Strategy will build whole-of-government data and analytics capabilities for new insights into WA’s most complex social, health, environmental and economic issues.
It is also essential the State Government continues to protect its online services and systems from cyber threats. The Digital Strategy will strengthen the State Government’s capability to detect, prevent and respond to cyber incidents.
As services and regulatory processes become more digital, the ability to access and use digital technology is even more critical. The Digital Strategy will help ensure that all Western Australians are digitally included by delivering initiatives that address the key barriers – connectivity, affordability, skills and design.
This next phase of digital transformation is ambitious and exciting. The McGowan Government will deliver its vision for digital government services through central leadership, strategic oversight and strong collaboration between State Government agencies.
The Innovation and ICT Minister stated that the WA Government is committed to reorienting government services and regulatory processes around the needs of people and businesses – rather than expecting people and businesses to organise themselves around inflexible government structures.
The new Digital Strategy will change the way government works and make it easier for people and businesses to interact with the State Government. It will expand the government’s existing cyber resilience and capability to manage critical cybersecurity risks, which are occurring worldwide in both unprecedented frequency and magnitude.
“The McGowan Government is ensuring no one is left behind as our services become more digital, and the Digital Strategy will remove barriers to inclusion so all Western Australians can access and use the internet and digital technology,” he said.
In a statement, the Minister for Disability Services; Fisheries; Innovation and ICT; Seniors and Ageing noted that digital technology is changing the way governments everywhere support their citizens. Digital innovation provides the WA Government with the opportunity to stimulate economic growth and allow Western Australian people, businesses and communities to thrive.
He also said that Western Australia should be at the forefront of digital change globally. The Digital Strategy for the Western Australian Government 2021-2025 (the Digital Strategy) aims to change the way the local community interacts with the government. It puts Western Australian people, businesses and communities at its centre and sets the vision for a government that provides convenient and secure online services informed by quality data insights. It also recognises that as government delivers more services online and better leverages data to inform its operations, excellent cybersecurity capabilities are more important than ever.
The minister noted that to successfully deliver the Digital Strategy, the WA Government will work to ensure that no one is left behind. All Western Australians should be able to enjoy the benefits of digital technologies and services in their everyday lives. However, some members of our community cannot or simply do not want to access digital services.
Government services will importantly be digital-first, not digital-only – preserving and growing the ability to choose how services are accessed. Whether that is visiting a front counter, talking to us over the phone or accessing government services online – accessible and inclusive solutions will be available to optimise service delivery for all.
