The Victorian Government has pledged to cut digital red tape for state and potentially local government services, with a $120 million overhaul of Service Victoria as part of Budget 2023.
Minister for Government Services, Danny Pearson said the Government was investing more than $160 million to help people to interact with government in a way that was convenient and efficient for them.
“That means more credentials like the existing digital Working with Children Check and Ambulance Victoria card can be housed on the app – with a Digital Seniors Card to be added in coming months,” he said.
“This month we announced a digital driver’s licence pilot for Ballarat that will lead to a statewide rollout by 2024 – giving every Victorian driver the option of carrying their licence on their phone.”
The Service Victoria app is installed on 1.4 million devices and features more than 100 services, including a Savings Finder.
“This funding will see the development of faster and easier payment options for government services, adding to the Labor Government’s broader time and money-saving reforms,” said Mr Pearson.
“The new Service Victoria investment will mean more services can be added in the coming year, making things easier for local government and businesses.”
More than $34 million has been earmarked toward boosting cybersecurity protections for essential services and the creation of a new Cyber Defence Centre to detect and block threats in real-time.
“Alongside the Centre itself, we’ll partner with leading Victorian TAFEs and universities to provide opportunities for cyber graduates to kickstart their careers with hands-on experience in the new Defence Centre,” said Mr Pearson.
He said Victorian businesses would also benefit from simpler applications and streamlined approval processes with an investment of $30 million in the State’s Business Acceleration Fund.
“The Fund will allow government and regulators to speed up their services, making it cheaper and easier to do business.”
“With state and potentially local government services to be digitised with Service Victoria, it will speed up licence and permit processes and allow pilots for automatic approvals for low-risk local activities.
“Combined with a further $8 million for a whole-of-government regulatory reform program, this package makes sure Victoria is the best place to do business by reducing the time, paperwork and cost involved in official dealings,” the Minister said.
