ICT Industry offers assistance to State Government

The local technology industry has detailed ways the Tasmanian Government can become a leader in customer service through digital service delivery.

In its response to the Tasmanian Government’s Our Digital Future strategy, TasICT the peak industry body for the Information, Communication and Technology sector said the Tasmanian Government needs to be bold and take action to bridge the growing gap between digital service delivery in Tasmania and rest of Australia by adopting a ‘digital by default’ approach. 

TasICT President Martin Anderson said “Tasmania led the pack in delivery of government services by establishing Service Tasmania in 1998, however the Intermedium 2020 Digital Government Readiness Indicator ranked Tasmania last out of all state and territory governments. This can be addressed by providing better access to online services. Red tape can be reduced by offering citizens the opportunity to complete transactions securely online. Across agencies, a dizzying array of transactions all require applicants to print & sign forms before standing in line to submit them at Service Tasmania”. He added “By establishing an office of Digital Transformation and allocating significant funding, Tasmanians can start to benefit from the timeliness and convenience of anywhere, anytime, digital transactions when interacting with their government”.

The 16 page TasICT submission which is available on the Department of Premier & Cabinet website, sets out the issues facing the Tasmanian Government and offers suggestions on how Digital Transformation can be achieved with opportunities for public access to ‘anywhere, anytime’ government services. The document addresses the state of digital transformation in Tasmania, coordination, customer service, digital capability uplift, data, legislation, telecommunications infrastructure improvement and working with local industry.