OP ED By Ben Malpass, TechnologyOne’s head of local government
In an age where platforms like Instagram, Google and Netflix have redefined what it means to offer seamless digital experiences, the benchmark for online service delivery has never been higher.
Together, these “digital native” consumer brands have trained people to expect instant access to any information they need or want at the touch of a button: whether it’s shopping online or interacting with their local council.
Today, residents expect to check their bin collection dates or development applications as easily as they can book a table or track a parcel. Yet this expectation, sadly, doesn’t always match reality. At one level, the expectation that councils emulate these private sector giants is unfair.
The consequences felt by a council when it tries new tech in its community and fails are greater than the implications for a tech giant, which can simply move on. However, councils and citizens can both see huge benefits from effective and modern digital services delivery.

Legacy tech investment impacting council services
Local councils will never be able to rival the budgets or the skills of tech giants. Building the systems that support seamless, flexible and intuitive interactions can be incredibly complex. Especially for most local councils where tech is outside of their core expertise.
Local councils additionally have a lot of legacy investment, which creates both “tech debt” and “process debt” making it even harder to offer the interactions residents expect. Modern, cloud-based technology has helped. It’s revolutionised the way local governments engage with their communities, giving users secure, flexible access to systems from anywhere, at any time.
According to a recent IBRS report, most citizens believe local government services are convenient (64%) and save time (56%). Yet technology alone can only do so much. In fact, ineffective design of tech services can result in disengagement from the very people that need them the most.
Vulnerable residents disengaging from online services
The report found that local digital services were used significantly less than central government services (50% vs 70%) and people in disadvantaged socioeconomic groups were three times more likely to report getting “no benefits” from online services, compared to in person service delivery.
Interestingly, many of the pain points highlighted by these disengaged residents focused on human-centric elements. Navigating online forms, for instance, does not come naturally to everyone while many council websites are not compatible with screen readers for residents with visual impairments.
Official documents and webpages are often filled with complex language or legal terms that residents find hard to understand. For someone who simply wants to apply for food assistance, this online process can be intimidating and overwhelming.

Tech services with a human-touch
To bridge this divide, the IBRS recommends local councils enhance their customer experience by complementing their tech services with “empathic citizen-centric service design”.
This design approach goes beyond pure functionality. It shifts the emphasis towards building services with a more ‘human touch’. Effectively creating services that resonate with real human needs and prioritise the experiences of society’s most vulnerable groups to make digital services inclusive, as well as accessible. This means stripping away jargon, ensuring services are compatible with accessibility tools and making sure residents can get appropriate support at every step of their online journey.
Driving efficiencies for communities and council employees
Rather than trawling council webpages or waiting on hold for information, the best citizen-first services empower residents to simply type the council service they are looking for into Google or speak to a real person if and when the digital tools fall short.
Done well, empathic citizen-centric service design not only bridges the gap between the experiences people expect and the unique challenges of local government, but it can strengthen data security and improve operational efficiency.
Digital self-service channels, as one example, can save councils $90 – $350 per complex transaction and $20-$50 per simple transaction. Funds that can then be poured into programs for the most at-risk members of the community. Automation can also remove the admin burden on council staff, freeing them up to focus on the human aspect of service delivery allowing them to provide the personalised and empathetic solutions residents need to solve their unique challenges.

Council services at the cross-section of empathy and innovation
At its core, empathic citizen-centric service design represents a fundamental shift in how local councils can and should engage with their communities. Yes, it’s about improving customer experiences and meeting the demands of today’s digital-first residents, but it’s also about
reimagining public services to be equitable, accessible and intuitive for all.
By bridging the gap between traditional processes and the seamless, user-focused interactions of consumer brands, councils can meet the growing demand for more empathetic digital experiences; experiences that feel human and responsive. This is the future of service delivery – where empathy and innovation meet to build trust and inclusion at every level.