In what he says is a move towards a customer-centric government, for ten years the NSW government has been developing a digital wallet and e-regulation platform.
Minister of Customer Service and Digital Government Victor Dominello announced the new products during a speech at the Future.NSW event hosted by the NSW Customer Service Department in Sydney on Monday.
The digital wallet will allow users to store licenses, passes, permits and cards digitally on their phone and share this information to third parties such as the gym.
It will also notify them of the expiration of licenses and permits, allowing them to be updated on the spot.
In a video explaining a digital wallet, a young woman uses a digital wallet at an interview, allowing her to verify her identity to enter the building and then present her verification of working with children during the interview.
“A lot of what you see in this video isn’t really the future; He is here now, ”Mr Dominela told delegates.
The Blue Book, which is currently being distributed to all parents of children born to NSW and contains information about their health and development, will eventually be included in the NSW Health app.
Consolidation of regulators on one platform
The government is also continuing work on an electronic regulation platform, first published last October.
Mr Dominela said at a technology forum in March that the e-regulation platform would cut time and red tape for businesses dealing with 28 state regulators, including SafeWork NSW, the NSW Environmental Protection Agency and local councils. NSW has 28 regulators.
“(Right now) you would turn to the regulator, not the regulator came to you … we need to make sure you are the center of the universe, not the government,” Mr Dominela said.
“So by creating an electronic regulator platform where they all speak the same language, it means we have such an opportunity to put you at the center of the picture.”
The platform will also help ensure reliable and ethical supply chains, the minister said.
Building trust
Mr Dominela acknowledged that it was “critical” that everything in the digital space be based on trust and that all data remained the property of customers.
“If we don’t get the right trust settings, then it’s literally one step forward, 10 steps back,” he said.
“The government is the custodian, but that’s your data; we are regulators, but it is for your protection, your choice, your control.
“This is where we need to go, because if we don’t incorporate it into design thinking now, it will be easy for many people to think … this new world is a world of anti-utopia.”
With new technologies including blockchain, virtual reality and Web 3.0, it was important to consider how this would overlap with existing systems, Mr Dominella said.
“This is a real problem and a real question we need to ask ourselves today … how to improve these services that are already working to take into account the metaverse?
“How do we prepare for this today so that it is ready tomorrow? … so we can really realize this dream to make sure we are the beginning of the Renaissance here in this great country.”
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