Photo: dta

The 2018–19 Budget will invest in key platforms and technology to improve people’s experience of government services online.

$92.4 million will be invested in the next phase of work to build Govpass, our digital identity system.

Govpass will provide a simple, safe and secure choice for people to verify who they are and access government services online, reducing the need to visit a shopfront.

Over the next financial year, up to 8 high-volume government services will be piloted using a digital identity, giving more than 500,000 people the opportunity to test the system.

The first government services to be trialled with the digital identity system are applying for a tax file number and registering a business from October 2018.

A number of Commonwealth agencies will work together to roll out digital identity:

• the Digital Transformation Agency has oversight of the system, developing a set of rules called the Trusted Digital Identity Framework to accredit identity providers
• the Australian Taxation Office will be the Commonwealth’s identity provider to verify people are who they say they are
• the Department of Human Services will operate the exchange — a technology gateway between accredited identity providers and the services people use.

The government is also exploring innovative ways to deliver reliable and secure government services, using modern technology such as blockchain.

$700,000 is being invested to investigate the benefits of using blockchain for government services.

This work will be done in 2 stages:

1. Conduct research to understand the current maturity of blockchain, the readiness for government to adopt the technology and identify problems that blockchain might be able to solve.
2. Develop a possible solution for one of the problems identified in the research, and understand the potential of using blockchain to support government services.

These measures are part of the government’s roadmap for the delivery of better, simpler and more accessible digital government services.