There’s been enormous coverage of the new Centrelink debt letters process, whereby the Department of Human Services has automated the process of matching data from the ATO and Centrelink to try to find overpayments (but not underpayments) in welfare benefits to Australia. The automation has involved removing human quality assurance steps, which has led to…
A few months ago I interviewed with Andrew Ramsden of AlphaTransform, who has spent the last year capturing the thoughts of digital leaders around Australia (he also has a book in the works). He’s now published the interview as Episode 16 in his Alpha Geek Podcast – which is definitely worth checking out. You can…
I wrote this post in response to a LinkedIn conversation around this article, Digital government could become just more cost cutting, warns Internet Australia – which should be read first for context. Digital transformation should never focus on the digital, it’s about transformation. Digital is a toolset and has opened new doors to how services and…
Digital disruption is one of the buzz terms of the last few years, underscoring the increasingly rapid changes in society, industries and governments as new ideas and techniques enabled by digital technologies take hold. Photo by Tsahi Levent-Levi While some embrace this disruption (generally those doing the disrupting), for many it remains an unsettling or…
I’m very pleased to see that the Australian Public Service Commission is finally considering the introduction of ‘free range’ teams of public servants, unattached to specific agencies, who can provide specialist skills as and where needed. I proposed this type of team while I was working within government almost ten years ago now, as I…
Growth of the Chief Digital Officer (CDO) role has been incredibly rapid over the last few year, reflecting the increasing importance of technology to organisational success and survival. However not all CDO roles are created equal, with enormous variation in their responsibilities, resourcing and capability to generate change, in the form of digital transformation, in…
I’ve been involved in an interesting Facebook chat around the definition of a startup, which has coalesced my thoughts on the approach of organisations towards innovation. Innovation has become a buzzword in the last few years, with both corporations and governments focused on the notion that they need innovation to remain effective and relevant. I’ve…
During this Public Sector Innovation Month, I thought I should focus my eGovAU posts a little more closely on the topic of innovation. I’ve commented previously on the ‘shiny new thing’ issue – whereby humans place unrealistic expectations on a new device or approach to solve a long-standing existing issue. It’s an issue that occurs…
Role models are incredibly important for humans across both their personal and professional lives. Role models can help show us and make us believe we can exceed our own boundaries. They can open doors and windows to new ideas, fostering innovation and positive change. The more restricted and limiting the environment, the more important role…
Last year Justin Trudeau, now Prime Minister of Canada, broadcast the launch of his campaign using Facebook Live, and livestreamed his party’s launch event. Also last year UK political parties made extensive use of Facebook for live online Q&A sessions, speeches and debates. Now it is Australia’s turn, with Malcolm Turnbull announcing today (and Bill…
This archive mirrors the original eGov AU blog — Craig’s professional commentary on AI, digital government and technology in public life, running since 2006.
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