Reform of Australian Government Administration
Hi–Tech Efficiency Key to Future Service Delivery
Blueprint for putting people first
HERE is an example of how an average Australian may have contact with government 10 years from now.
Lyn has just given birth to her second child, Jai. During her pregnancy she registered online with Government Services Australia and selected a range of maternity-related services that she wished to receive. When Jai is born, the one-stop shop for all government services swings into action.
A local community midwife starts visiting Lyn every three days. Lyn's general practitioner opens an electronic hea
In the weeks after Jai's birth, Lyn gets a text message telling her where to get the infant immunised. She is offered advice for new parents, is linked by video to a local mothers' group and told about childcare facilities in her area. She is emailed Jai's birth certificate.
Lyn does not have to register with multiple agencies or miss out on services. She only has to tell her story once and agencies from all levels of government combine to offer her an assistance package tailored to her needs.
This scenario for government service delivery that puts people first was provided by Medicare to the Australian Public Service's advisory group on reform, of which I was a member. Making it a reality is central to our blueprint, released yesterday, for comprehensive changes in the public service.
Ahead of the Game: Blueprint for Reform of Australian Government Administration advocates reforms to strengthen the public service across many areas. But it is in service delivery that these reforms, if accepted by government, are likeliest to directly affect our lives. Across many advanced democracies, governments are seeking to use information technology to change the way they provide services because it is the right thing to do, but also because citizens expect no less.
From education to entertainment, health services to holidays, people have unprecedented choices and information. They are also well-educated and aware of their rights. And with ageing populations, demand for high-quality services will only grow.
However, Australia lags behind many countries in this field. Too many Australians remain frustrated by having to use services that insist on multiple forms, offices, interviews and points of contact with the customer. Too few government agencies are using IT to connect their operations and to tailor their services to people's needs. More than one-third of submissions to the public service reform advisory group urged a more people-focused approach.
Accordingly, our blueprint advocates that the public service devise a strategy to create citizen-centred services across all commonwealth agencies, and in partnership with services provided by state and local governments.
It calls on the government to consider the introduction of a regular citizen survey that would solicit citizens' views on public services and collect ideas on how they could be improved.
It argues government should do more to use the expertise of the 30,000 front-line workers in service delivery, one-fifth of the Australian Public Service workforce. Where the private and community sectors can deliver services more effectively than government, they should be enabled to do so. Critically, the blueprint argues that government uses IT not only to put citizens at the heart of service delivery but to give them a hand in service design.
In 2008 the internet became the most common means by which Australians had contact with government. This contact is largely passive: receiving information, completing forms and so on. But in future government will be able to use the internet to directly tap the ideas of citizens.
Going even further, our blueprint calls on government to consider making much more public sector information available online, so citizen groups and individuals can create new internet databases for public benefit.
All of this would involve a small revolution in service delivery and it will not be easy for the public service to achieve. For one, it requires agencies to be more open with the public and with each other than they are today. But some agencies are already on the right road. By the end of this year, all human services agencies will have a single number and website for accessing their services. At least 20 government offices across Australia will provide a one-stop shop for the services of Centrelink, Medicare and other agencies. Centrelink's work with Victorian agencies during last year's bushfires provides a fine model of citizen-centred service delivery.
This agenda represents an exciting opportunity for the public service. Many studies show that the experience people have of services strongly affects their view of government. If these services are delivered with an unfailing commitment to putting people first, Australians and Australian democracy can only benefit.
Ann Sherry is the chief executive of Carnival Australia and a member of the advisory group on Australian Public Service reform.
Author: Ann Sherry
Publication: The Australian (12,Tue 30 Mar 2010)