Adobe report: Australian digital services could save $12 billion

Adobe has released the Adobe Digital Government Index for Australia 2024, highlighting potential economic benefits through increased digital government participation.

The report suggests that enhancing digital public services could enable the Australian government to cut service costs by $12 billion over the next decade, with the potential to save citizens 800 million hours through better access. Additionally, this could contribute an extra $19 billion to the nation's economy. The conclusion is based on modelling conducted in partnership with Mandala, indicating a positive public response where services are reliable, accessible, efficient, and secure.

Since 2021, Adobe has been assessing Australian Federal and State government departments' delivery of digital government services. Australia's score in the index has risen from 58 to 68 out of 100, positioning it second globally behind the United Kingdom. These improvements are largely attributed to a 30% increase in digital equity measures.

However, this year's results show a slight decline in national service performance, dropping from 68.4 to 67.7. Despite 90% of Australians preferring digital government interactions, only 79% of service interactions were conducted online in 2023.

John Mackenney, Director of Digital Strategy Group, Asia Pacific at Adobe, noted the benefits of increased digital government engagement, stating, "Increasing participation in digital government would bring numerous benefits to Australia's economy."

The index evaluated 17 federal and state government departments based on customer experience, site performance, and digital equity. MyGov was noted for achieving the highest Index ranking globally due to its accessibility and personalised service offerings.

The Hon. Bill Shorten MP, Minister for Government Services, remarked on Services Australia's achievements, "The key to the high rankings of Services Australia's two flagship digital products, myGov and the agency website, is their people-centred design. Both are built on complementary life events models, which is a major factor in their positive ratings."

The report found that although customer experience improved slightly due to better mobile interactions, site performance decreased, impacting site health and authority. This decline may affect search engine results, potentially leading to misinformation if malicious sites rank higher than government websites. A drop in digital equity was also noted due to a decrease in language translation services and reduced website readability, affecting non-English speakers and those with lower literacy levels.

In state rankings, New South Wales maintained the top position with a score of 72.55, leading in both customer experience and digital equity.

The Hon. Jihad Dib, Minister for Customer Service and Digital Government, NSW Government, commented, "The NSW Government is driving our digital agenda through a new Digital Strategy which prioritises inclusion, innovation and digital identity, backed in by stronger frontline public services, to deliver for the people of NSW." Western Australia and Tasmania followed in second and third places, respectively, showing improvements across all measures.

Adobe's assessment indicates that mature agencies with advanced personalisation capabilities tend to achieve higher Index scores. The report suggests there is untapped potential to enhance inclusion initiatives through personalisation and technology, which could improve citizen relationships and trust.