Credit: Dreamstime
The NSW Government is to pump $100 million into a fund to promote digital transformation across the public sector agencies.
Named the ‘Digital Restart Fund’, the initial seed capital will cover projects that fuel whole-of-government digital transformation over a two-year period to help the state body “keep pace” with the digital age.
According to budget papers released on 18 June, the transformation will promote the adoption of common platforms across the Government in order to remove duplication and increase efficiency.
The Government said it also hopes to improve the customer experience for its services and also have the “fiscal capacity to tap into innovation opportunities”.
According to the budget, the expenditure will come from matching cluster expense reductions.
NSW Government chief information and digital officer Greg Wells first announced a blueprint for digital delivery in NSW last November ahead of the State election in March.
The blueprint outlined the Government’s priority to move from an agency-by-agency, “capitally funded opportunistic funding approach” that separated IT and projects.
The Budget will also provide a $695 million commitment for technology upgrades to reduce congestion.
As reported by sister publication Computerworld, the Government will meanwhile become the first Australian jurisdiction to give people access to a digital driver’s licence
The opt-in licence system will be open from August, although more than 14,000 people are already using it following trials in Dubbo, Albury and the eastern suburbs of Sydney.
“Smartphones have become de facto wallets and we’re using cutting edge technology so that drivers can use a digital licence in everyday scenarios,” said customer service minister Victor Dominello.
“The DDL is hosted securely on the new Service NSW app, locks with a PIN and can be accessed offline. It will provide additional levels of security and protection against identity fraud, compared to the plastic driver licence.”
