Australian digital services stall despite advances & AI push

Australian government digital services are failing to show improvement in key performance measures, according to a new report, despite significant technological shifts driven by artificial intelligence in how citizens engage with public sector websites.

Performance plateau

The latest assessment of federal and state agency websites indicates that Australia has maintained its second-place global ranking for digital government performance. The national average moved only slightly, with a score of 69.4 out of 100, showing little movement since an initial boost in 2022-23.

Australia's position is second among seven global jurisdictions, behind the United Kingdom. The ranking is based on a blend of customer experience, site performance, and digital self-service, with agency websites evaluated for accessibility, reliability, and how well users can independently access information.

Site performance marked the most improvement, rising 4.6%, suggesting websites are loading more quickly and providing a more intuitive experience. Digital self-service also saw gains, particularly in enabling diverse users to access and understand content without assistance. However, customer experience, as measured by user testing, declined slightly and has remained largely unchanged since 2022.

State competition

State-level results show New South Wales retains its lead, but the margin is narrowing as other states catch up. Five of the eight states and territories improved their index scores in the 2025 findings. The Australian Capital Territory jumped to second place, overtaking several states, and Tasmania followed closely, with Queensland recording the largest increase, reaching fourth place overall.

"Our Digital Strategy rollout has just entered its second year, and I'm proud of the strong progress we're making which is reflected in NSW's ranking in Adobe's Digital Government Index. We continue to focus on making our digital services inclusive and easy to use, because improving access means we are enabling everyone in NSW to reach their full potential," said Jihad Dib, Minister for Customer Service and Digital Government, NSW Government.

AI readiness gaps

The report introduces a new assessment of agencies' readiness for artificial intelligence, as AI becomes central to the way the public and automated tools find and interpret government information. This AI readiness measure, which evaluates nine sub-metrics across three categories, revealed a wide spread in preparedness. Scores among agencies ranged from 51.1 to 73.1 out of 100, with an average of 61.7. NSW agencies again led the scores, benefitting from existing digital strengths.

Despite solid technical foundations and efforts to establish authority and trust online, many agency websites are not optimised for discovery by AI-powered tools. This deficiency could make accurate official information less likely to appear in AI-generated search results, potentially exposing citizens to unreliable or incomplete data and reducing trust in official channels.

Operational hurdles

The slow progress in preparing for AI is attributed to budget constraints, outdated system integration, and organisational silos, according to the report. These factors have created a disparity in how agencies are responding to the shift towards AI-driven information discovery.

Some agencies have begun publishing strategies addressing this gap. Services Australia, for example, outlines measures to ensure its digital resources are accessible for AI consumption, with updated content governance processes to maintain information reliability and accuracy for users of AI platforms.

"We're working to ensure our public-facing resources and digital presence, like our websites, are optimised for easier AI consumption ... Our content governance processes will help ensure customers using AI tools are presented with information about Australian payments and services that is up to date, reliable and relevant," said Services Australia.

Continuous investment

The findings indicate that digital service improvement remains a continuous process and that complacency can make agencies vulnerable to emerging challenges, particularly as technologies evolve. The stagnation in certain measures despite advances elsewhere underscores the importance of sustained reinvestment in digital foundations and future readiness, especially in a period shaped by rapid AI adoption.