Digital delivery
THE NEED TO LEAD
Sarah Adam-Gedge
CAN THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT GAIN THE TRUST OF THE PUBLIC AND START LEADING THE WAY IN DIGITAL SERVICES?
H
ow often have you hesitated to enter your personal details when completing a shopping transaction online, logging into your bank account or even creating a new social media profile? The reality is, often there is little to no hesitation. Recent research by the ACMA has revealed that Australians have multiple digital identities, managing between five and 50 login and password combinations to conduct their day-today online activities. We’ve come a long way in terms of digitisation and are generally comfortable with providing
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personal data to organisations and services. So why is there hesitation when the request comes from government? The federal government’s Digital Transformation Agency (DTA) will be launching an identity federation hub in 2017, which will both verify the identity of individuals and allow individuals to access government services online. But while this should be a win-win for all parties — eliminating the need for us to re-enter details, as well as streamlining the way we engage with government services — many people have reservations. From a government perspective,
developing a digital-first approach is crucial to moving one step closer to creating a truly digital government and positioning our nation as a leader in the global economy. From a citizen perspective, however, the reluctance to adopt a digital identity stems from a perception issue: firstly, of the government’s inability to protect, and potential to misuse, personal information; and secondly, of a lack of confidence in government departments’ capabilities to implement a change of this scale. The DTA is already working to shift these perceptions and take into account what drives citizen confidence.
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