The NSW government has committed $100 million over the next two years to fund a whole-of-government digital transformation effort.
The new ‘Digital Restart Fund’ was announced in the NSW government’s budget papers today with the hopes of enhancing customer experience.
The fund will also promote “the adoption of common platforms across government to remove duplication and increase efficiency,” according to the government. Budget estimates predicted that funding will be offset by matching cluster expense reductions.
NSW chief information and digital officer Greg Wells hinted at the fund back in February as a way of upending its outdated government IT funding model, saying it would be used to progress agile programs that line up with the state’s blueprint for delivery.
The blueprint itself aims to move away from an agency-by-agency, capitally funded approach to differentiate digital and ICT while providing NSW citizens with better security, transparency and trust in the government, support the state’s digital economy and improve government performance.
As iTnews pointed out, the fund’s creation could explain the lack of major IT projects in the 2019 budget after the Treasury and Customer Service departments agreed to curb massive projects.
NSW treasurer Dominic Perrottet said in his budget speech that the government’s focus on digital would continue making people’s lives easier while also touting the rollout of digital driver’s licenses from August this year.
Readers can catch up on iTnews’ full NSW Budget 2019 coverage here.
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