Викторианское правительство признало отсутствие прогресса в цифровизации услуг

The Victorian Government has made little or no progress in improving its delivery of digital services, a report finds. Following up a review of Service Victoria conducted in 2021, the Victorian Auditor-General’s Office has examined whether the Department of Government Services and the Department of Premier and Cabinet have implemented the public sector watchdog’s recommendations. The follow-up review followed two lines of inquiry: have agencies implemented their action plans and has digital delivery of government services improved customer experiences and reduced transaction costs? (A transaction is a successful use of a government service from start to finish.) Of the five recommendations VAGO made to DPC, four focused on improving reporting and guidance and one related to introducing a stakeholder engagement strategy. Of the five recommendations made to Service Victoria – now sitting within DGS – four related to improving the platform’s transaction baselines and benefits reporting and one was about data collection. Both agencies accepted all ten recommendations and submitted an action plan detailing how it would address them. However, VAGO’s follow-up review found the response lacking. “Since our 2021 report, the DGS and the DPC have made limited, and in some cases, no progress in addressing the shortcomings we found in their delivery of digital services,” says the report. Out of 10 recommendations, the government has only implemented one and partially completed two. The departments also provided VAGO with inaccurate reports on the status of their actions in response to the recommendations. “Although users can now access more services on the Service Victoria platform, DGS still cannot show if the platform is delivering the benefits intended in its original 2015 business case and cannot show how many transactions it delivers,” says the report. VAGO also found that the DGS “does not have a clear strategy for Service Victoria’s future or for encouraging other agencies to transfer their services to the platform”. No progress in addressing shortcomings. On a brighter note, VAGO’s report finds that user satisfaction feedback for the Service Victoria platform has remained consistently high since 2021. However, VAGO finds that changes to Service Victoria’s performance measures have reduced transparency around its operations. “These changes mean that DGS does not know if it has reduced transaction costs since our last report,” says the report. Additionally, DGS and DPC also do not have a clear understanding of what digital services the government is delivering outside the Service Victoria platform. “Without this, it is difficult for them to identify transactions they could add to the platform to deliver services more efficiently across the government,” says the report. In response to VAGO’s report, the DGS replied: “There has been significant and material change in the technology environment and in the policy and delivery context since the Victorian Auditor-General’s Office’s original audit was conducted. DGS considers it appropriate and necessary to adapt the implementation of agreed actions, or cease to undertake completed actions, in response to changes in context, circumstances and government priorities.”