MyGov digital mail to expand to businesses

The federal government's new Digital Transformation Office will expand the national myGov digital mail service to businesses from next year.

The DTO was established in January to assume responsibility for customer-facing digital service delivery in the federal government.

It meant responsibility for customer services technology was moved out of the former Australian Government Information Management Office (AGIMO) within Finance and into the Communications department.

The Coalition set aside more than $95 million in its most recent budget to establish the DTO over four years.

The budget also revealed the office's first activities - which included a $7.1 million project to deliver a "secure digital mailbox for government communications".

The DTO today offered more details on the project, revealing it will expand the Human Services-run myGov authentication platform to offer businesses an electronic one-stop shop for government correspondence.

Businesses will be able to use the service from next year, the DTO wrote in a blog post.

"This will be a game changer in the way business transacts with government, saving time and frustration," said the agency's digital mail team.

myGov debuted in 2013 and is currently in use by Centrelink, Medicare and the Australian Tax Office, which last year made the service effectively mandatory for anyone completing their tax return online.

In the past 12 months, more than 45 million digital letters have been sent through myGov, the DTO said.

The office will utilise the Australian Business Register to bring businesses onto the service.

DHS last year announced it would partner with Australia Post to trial a link-up between myGov and AusPost's Digital Mailbox.

The trial meant myGov users would have their government digital mail automatically forwarded from their myGov inbox to AusPost's Digital Mailbox.

The partnership started as a six month trial, which has since been extended, according to an Australia Post spokesperson. No firm deadline for the trial's end was provided.