Country : Australia

Year Published: 2017

Language: English

Sector: Cross Government, Revenue and Taxation

Issue: E-Governance

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The myGov digital service (myGov) is an entry portal for individuals to access the services of participating government entities. It was launched in May 2013 to provide individuals with secure online access to a range of Australian Government services in one place. It was expected to provide a whole-of-government digital service delivery capability and to improve the experience for individuals who choose to self-manage their interactions with government services. The four year myGov project (2012–13 to 2015–16) was to provide:

The Digital Transformation Agency is responsible for myGov service strategy, policy and user experience.2The Department of Human Services (Human Services) is responsible for administering and hosting myGov, including processes and procedures for system development and testing, security and operational performance.

By November 2016, myGov supported nearly 11 million active accounts and ten member services.

Weblink : https://www.anao.gov.au/work/performance-audit/mygov-digital-services

Summary/Highlight:

The Department of Human Services’ implementation of myGov as a platform to deliver whole-of-government online services has been largely effective.

Fit-for-purpose strategic and operational governance arrangements operated for the first three years of the myGov project, followed by a one year gap in strategic governance when interim arrangements had a largely operational focus. This gap was addressed in July 2016 with the re-establishment of a strategic governance board.

There were 9.5 million user accounts registered in myGov by the end of the four year project—nearly double the business case forecast of 5.1 million. myGov has contributed to improved delivery of government services for individuals by providing three key functionalities—single digital credential, Update Your Details and Inbox—to reduce the time spent transacting with government. Several requirements to improve usability have only recently been implemented and a small number of requirements are yet to be delivered. As at November 2016, there were ten government services available through myGov. While it is not mandatory for member services to participate in myGov, the effectiveness of myGov as a whole-of-government capability has been hampered by government services not joining myGov and not fully adopting the myGov functionalities.

Since late 2015, the myGov platform has been hosted on high-availability infrastructure, which has improved performance, especially during peak demand periods, with performance targets consistently met. Suitable security and privacy measures were in place to control access and protect sensitive data stored in myGov.

In 2012, the Government approved a budget for the myGov project of $29.7 million for 2012–13 to 2015–16based on the functionalities set out in the business case. The myGov project was not delivered within this original agreed funding, with actual expenditure to June 2016 totalling $86.7 million. Over the four years of the project an additional $37.8 million in funding was approved by Government, and Human Services funded the remaining $19.2 million from a pre-approved ICT contingency fund. Departmental records indicate that the increase in operating expenses over the four years of the project—from $8.5 million in 2012–13 to $37.3 million in 2015–16—was primarily driven by the costs associated with supporting the large number of user accounts (nearly double the forecast) and the improved high-availability infrastructure.

Performance metrics to enable the quantification of actual savings in the six areas identified in the business case were not developed. In the absence of such metrics, it is not possible to determine whether the expected savings have been realised in all six areas.