Victorian Government highlights accessibility and digital-readiness in its digital strategy

The Victorian Government has released its 2021-2026 digital strategy focusing on accessibility of services, a digital-ready public sector and the digital economy.

According to Jaala Pulford, Minister for Innovation, Medical Research and the Digital Economy, in her foreword, “This past year has shown us that connectivity is not a luxury it is a necessity. You cannot fully participate in our society without being able to get online.”

Victoria received a B-minus rating in this year's iTnews State of IT report which noted at the time, "Victoria has turned a corner since the litany of high-profile tech wrecks that first gave it a bad reputation for government IT projects. A series of reforms over the past few years has seen digital move closer to the centre of government, namely through the creation of Service Victoria. The one-stop shop provides access to more than 80 popular government services – a big improvement on 2016, when less than one per cent of all transactions were online."

On the matter of equity and accessibility, the strategy will focus on objectives such as low to no-touch interactions as well as universally accessible, secure and trusted services.

“Almost 2.5 million Australians remain offline and nearly one in 10 don’t have a personal desktop or laptop computer in their household. The social challenges faced by the most vulnerable in our society — such as accessing services and obtaining higher value jobs — are magnified by the increasing use of digital,” the report says.

To improve the digital-readiness of the public sector, the objectives include evidence-based decision making, maximising human talent and a focus on digital ethics.

The final, a “thriving digital economy”, will be led by digital literacy and inclusion, connecting the regional and rural economy, and digital interactions with business.

The key outcomes will be supported by investment in six digital infrastructure skills, according to the document: Policy and governance, portfolio and investment, process, people and partners, data intelligence, security and privacy and finally, technology platforms.

The Victorian Government says it will work to lower the overall costs of digital and data assets, utilise data intelligence to make policy decisions, develop secure by design digital assets and pursue data sharing.

The strategy claims that by 2025 the digital economy can generation $1.5 billion in economic benefit, generating 8,000 Victorian jobs.

According to Danny Pearson MP, Minister for Government Services, in his forward to the report, “We want digital to be fully embedded in how we serve the Victorian community so our people can benefit from, and be empowered by, secure, inclusive digital services.”

Outlining the key areas where digital has reshaped the global landscape, the strategy highlights increasing customer expectations as a driver, where the public sector is catching up to the expectations set by the private sector.

Cyber security threats exposing community and business vulnerabilities is another area where digital literacy is needed, as well as in the exponential growth of technological evolution, exemplified through AI, cloud, robotics and IoT.

Digital Victoria, the government entity established this year to oversee digital transformation in the organisation will lead the strategy.