Chapter 5: The Values and relations with the Public
Government Online and E-government
Service delivery in the APS has been increasingly affected by changes in technology that have the potential to dramatically improve the effectiveness of service delivery. The current public service environment is characterised by continued pressure for greater efficiency and effectiveness, rising community expectations for more convenient and sophisticated services and issues that increasingly transcend agency boundaries. The challenge for agencies is to use technology and information management to enhance their responsiveness to changing priorities and continually improve policy, program and service delivery.
The Australian Government recognised the potential of online technology to improve government service delivery in its Investing for Growth statement by committing to put all appropriate services online by 2001.9 The Government Online strategy was launched in April 2000, in pursuit of this commitment.10 The Prime Minister confirmed that the 2001 target had been met in his opening address to the World Congress on Information Technology in February 2002.11
The e-government agenda is now more complex. E-government describes the use of available and emerging technologies to create seamless, responsive and citizen-focused government for the benefit of all Australians. The focus has shifted from putting services online to integrating new technology with government administration and service delivery to deliver better results.
In its 2002 report on Australian Government use of information and technology, MAC found that there is a growing demand for government to provide more integrated and interactive information and services.12 It stated that information and communication technology (ICT) increasingly plays an important role in determining the quality and accessibility of services. It also emphasised that the development of effective whole of government approaches to ICT is critical to achieving further significant gains in the delivery of government services.
In October 2002, in response to MAC’s recommendations, the Government established the Information Management Strategy Committee to provide shared leadership on cross-agency technology issues.13 A framework for the next stage of e-government, Better Services, Better Government, was released in November 2002.14 It outlines broad directions and priorities for the future of e-government, and seeks to maintain the momentum of the Government Online strategy. Better Services, Better Government focuses on delivering citizen-focused services, integrating related services, building user trust and confidence and enhancing citizen engagement with government.
APS agencies have made considerable progress towards effective e-government. NOIE publishes an information economy index annually, which measures readiness to participate in the information economy, and intensity of this participation.15 The index draws on 23 indicators, including two that are particularly relevant to government service delivery: the penetration of online government services and government preparedness to supply services online.
The index draws on data from AC Nielsen to show that in September 2002, when the penetration of online government services for 12 countries was benchmarked, Australia was placed second to Canada, with 32% of home internet users accessing government websites. These data are broadly supported by ABS data, which show a growing proportion of people accessing government services via the internet for private purposes, up from 16% of all adult Australians in 2001 to 21% in 2002.16
The NOIE index also presents analysis of two recent e-government studies, both of which rated Australia’s e-government effectiveness highly, demonstrating that there is a high level of preparedness on the part of government agencies in terms of providing relevant services online and the necessary supporting e-government infrastructure and regulatory regimes.17 Australia was rated fifth overall out of the 12 countries, behind countries considered some of the most connected and advanced information economies, including the US, Canada and Sweden. NOIE is currently developing appropriate evaluation frameworks and benchmarks to assess progress on key performance indicators across the federal government sector in relation to e-government.
A number of the ANAO’s performance audits have addressed issues relating to the management of e-business. In particular, the ANAO has examined education and training services provided, or managed, by DEST via IT or the internet.18 The ANAO concluded that DEST’s management of its internet presence and its e-business was sound. It considered that DEST had developed a management culture that encouraged a focus on quality in relation to its IT and e-business. While noting that improvements could be made in measuring the benefits of, and assuring the quality of, its e-business systems, the report indicated that DEST was addressing these with the introduction of a new systems development methodology.
The ANAO also examined whether Centrelink has effective business continuity management strategies and associated risk management procedures and plans in place to ensure that it can continue to deliver programs in the event of a crisis, including in relation to its IT systems.19 It found Centrelink has comprehensive frameworks in place that generally minimise the likelihood of outages to critical business processes. However, it also found some continuity risks, including that some elements of Centrelink’s IT environment do not have sufficient continuity controls and treatments. Centrelink has agreed to all recommendations made by the ANAO.
9 The Commonwealth of Australia, Investing for Growth, 1997.
10 NOIE, Government Online-The Commonwealth Government's strategy, April 2000.
11 The John Howard MP, Addressing at the Opening of the World Congress on IT, Convention Centre Adelaide, 27 February 2002.
12 MAC Report No. 2, Australian Government use of information and communication technology. October 2002
13 The IMSC is chaired by the Secretary of DCITA, with secretariat support provided by NOIE. For more information and terms of reference see http://www.imsc.gov.au
14 NOIE, Better Services, Better Government: the Federal Government's e-government strategy, November 2002.
15 More detailed information about the index is available on the NOIE website at http://www.noie.gov.au
16 ABS Cat. No. 8416.0.
17 UN/American Society for Public Administration, Benchmarking e-government: A Global Perspective, 2002 and Accenture, E-government leadership: engaging the customer, 2003. See http://www.noie.gov.au for more detail.
18 ANAO, Management of e-business in the Department of Education, Science and Training, Audit Report No. 33, March 2003.
19 ANAO, Business Continuity Management and Emergency Management in Centrelink, Audit Report No. 9, October 2003.