AIIA says longer-term investment and planning needed

The Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA) has welcomed the unlocking of a $66 million cash injection for the NSW Digital Restart Fund, but is calling on the Minns government to give the tech industry long-term confidence in the fund’s future. This follows on from previous AIIA calls for significant funding and a rebadging as the Digital Maturity Fund.

The AIIA said papers associated with the 2023–24 Budget confirmed that $66 million in funding committed under the previous government had been released for projects supported by the Digital Restart Fund, which has been nearing depletion. The injection will allow the fund to continue supporting digital and information and communication technology initiatives across government services in the short term.

The AIIA said that NSW’s leadership in government digital services will only be maintained through continued investment and long-term planning, something it wants to see from the government and its digital-engaged Ministers as it works closely with the new administration.

The organisation said it recognises the efforts to deliver a fiscally responsible budget, but urges the government to adopt the Digital Maturity Fund recommendation put forward in its 2023 pre-election statement, of at least a $1.6 billion funding commitment and a rebrand of the fund as the Digital Maturity Fund. Supporting this recommendation in future budgets will grow NSW’s digital and data capability in government, climate and sustainability, and cybersecurity, and continue to stimulate the NSW economy including startups, especially through the ‘seed’ funding of smaller discovery and innovation projects that otherwise would not get started.

A further $80 million in funding for the Department of Customer Service and Service NSW for critical cybersecurity activities is also welcomed by the AIIA.

Funding to support the transition of our energy supply to renewables, and moving funding from EV rebates to EV infrastructure, is also welcomed as technology continues to play a key role in the transition to a net zero economy. The AIIA notes the reprioritisation of the Future Economy Fund as part of the fiscal responsibility measures, but hopes to see future economy and digital economy initiatives made a priority for future budgets given the importance of R&D, business growth and innovation in sectors including modern manufacturing.

“NSW has been a national leader in adopting and implementing digital technologies to provide services that benefit NSW citizens,” said AIIA CEO Simon Bush.

“We welcome the fact that this $66 million has been unlocked to top up the Digital Restart Fund. As the fund was sitting at $74 million prior to the Budget, the release of this previously committed funding leads to a combined $140 million to support innovative digital projects.

“It is now up to the Minns government to invest in the ongoing digitisation of service delivery and the next steps of digital government, and the AIIA sees a Digital Maturity Fund as the key to this long-term aim. Emerging tech such as artificial intelligence can yield so many benefits for NSW citizens. A Digital Maturity Fund would position NSW to capitalise on technology developments accordingly. The AIIA looks forward to the Minns government continuing to digitise government and commit to a Digital Maturity Fund as the mechanism for achieving this. This will enable NSW to capitalise on the cutting edge of tech, including AI adoption, to grow the local economy and achieve seamless digital government.”

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