Australians expect most govt services to be digital soon

The delivery of digital government solutions is becoming a must for citizens in Asia-Pacific, including Australia, according to a new report from VMware.

A survey of citizen experiences with digital government found that 82% of Australians expect most government services to be available online over the next five years.

Meanwhile, three in four agree or strongly agree that government should invest more in technology to better prepare for the future, and a little over half (55%) would be willing to provide personal data if it makes accessing services easier.

The pandemic has also left Australian citizens more willing to learn new digital skills or use a new platform (61%) and more comfortable engaging with new technologies (58%), setting the stage for more widespread development and adoption of digital government services, the research found.

Across Asia-Pacific, nearly half (46%) of citizens expect to access government services more frequently over the next five years. Almost four in five are expecting to access government services digitally in five years’ time.

To capture the opportunity, the report recommends that governments design new services with accessibility in mind to ensure nobody is left behind in the push for e-government.

Meanwhile, governments should seek to improve the integration of digital government services by investing in underlying digital infrastructure, and to consistently incorporate internal capability building funding as part of business cases and digital investment funds.

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/Sikov