Australia’s NSW state prioritises building trust as digital government accelerates

By Si Ying Thian

New South Wales’ Chief Information and Digital Officer, Laura Christie, shares what it takes to achieve the delicate balance of delivering seamless, integrated government experiences for citizens, while prioritising their privacy and security.

NSW government’s Chief Information and Digital Officer, Laura Christie, shares how the goals of delivering seamless, integrated government services and protecting citizen data rights does not have to be a trade-off. Image: Laura Christie

This story is part of GovInsider's Digital Government initiative, which aims to feature stories from digital government agencies around the world. Click here to view our interactive map and reach out to editorial@govinsider.asia if you wish to contribute.

Last October at an event in Sydney, the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) trialled the state’s digital wallet for cross-border travel in the US.

Having adopted an ISO standard, NSW’s digital identity and verifiable credentials team was able to successfully verify a sample photo card from the digital wallet to move through the US Department of Homeland Security’s airport gate – eventually “boarding a flight to the US.”

The demo of using the NSW Photo Card marks the first time that three continents – including Europe and North America – were able to share their digital credentials across borders. Image: Service NSW

The demonstration marks the first time that three continents – including Europe and North America – were able to share their digital credentials across borders, according to the event organiser Austroads’ National Harmonisation Lead for Digital Identity, Christopher Goh.

Apart from the digital wallet, the state is also currently testing and rolling out its decentralised digital ID programme – potentially putting Australia in the second spot in Asia Pacific, after Bhutan, in adopting a decentralised, self-sovereign system for national IDs.

While providing seamless, integrated government services may seem at odds with requiring citizens to share data across agencies, NSW government’s Chief Information and Digital Officer, Laura Christie, tells GovInsider that it does not have to be a trade-off.

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Striking a balance: Convenience and citizen trust

“It is striking the balance of security and responsible data sharing,” she adds, highlighting that the oversharing of personal information builds identity “honey pots” over time.

These identity “honey pots” then attract potentially even more cyber attackers.

GovInsider previously covered in an infographic how decentralised IDs do away the need for centralised servers, and allows citizens to selectively share their data with trusted entities.

“Technologies like the NSW Digital ID and NSW Digital Wallet will actually keep peoples’ information safer while enabling the sharing of only essential information instead of all information,” she explains.

Even in decentralised ID systems, governments play an important role in safeguarding the overall security and integrity of the system.

Christie adds that the national strategy outlines the government’s commitment to use privacy-preserving technologies and align with international standards for data protection, such as ISO, to ensure that the citizen’s personal information is safeguarded.

Digital ID progress

For FY2024-25, NSW’s Digital Identity and Verifiable Credentials programme has received more than AU$21 million (S$18 million) in funding, Christie shares.

Aside from the abovementioned cross-border trial, the government has been actively working towards enhancing the usability of its digital wallet and ID.

*The government successfully trialled incorporating a first aid certificate offered by a private organisation into the Digital NSW wallet. Image: St John Ambulance NSW*

Currently, NSW is working with other state and federal governments in Australia to develop a cohesive national strategy for digital ID and verifiable credentials across the Commonwealth of Australia.

The Commonwealth comprises the mainland of the Australian continent, Tasmania and other smaller islands.

The federal government is looking at a phased implementation to allow state and territory digital IDs to be used to access Australia’s Commonwealth government services, and later certain private sector digital IDs to access some government services.

Earlier in June 2024, the NSW government also trialled incorporating the first aid certificate offered by a non-government organisation into the digital wallet.

“This successful trial highlights the programme’s capability to expand credential offerings that benefit the community,” she shares.

Digital inclusion strategy in the works

Christie notes that many people still do not have complete trust in the government to keep their personal data secure online.

As more government services get digitalised, trust will become incredibly important to deliver better and more seamless services, she adds.

Currently, the NSW Telco Authority (NSWTA) is developing a Digital Inclusion Strategy to improve access to digital services and technologies for all communities across the state.

More than 1,600 responses and submissions have been received through a statewide consultation of the strategy, she shares.

“[The strategy] recognises an urgent need to enhance digital safety and privacy skills in NSW...

“To achieve this, the government will continue to raise awareness of how to navigate cyber security and privacy, while monitoring public trust in digital government services,” she explains.

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Small steps to make digital services more accessible

The government has been taking incremental steps to make digital services more inclusive and accessible for its people.

It launched the Easy Read Hub which presents essential government information in a simplified format - making them more accessible to people with intellectual disabilities (approximately 1.34 million residents in NSW), those with low literacy levels, and whose first language is not English.

*Screenshot as of Jan 16 from NSW Digital Connectivity Index's website. Image: NSW Government*

“More than 36 topics have been covered so far with more to come, including everything from emergency preparedness to applying for a Photo Card,” she shares.

Another initiative is the NSW Digital Connectivity Index to measure the quality of connectivity, and helps government agencies make data-informed decisions to address challenges for communities.

The index differs from existing indices as it does not only measure the availability of connectivity, but the ability of communities to afford and use digital technologies, she explains.

Future priorities

On key priorities in the mid- to long-term, Christie shares that the government is investing in digital platforms to centralise digital services for the NSW public sector - what she calls "State Digital Assets" - making these services more cost effective.

To make it easier for businesses to operate, the government is also modernising the Licence NSW platform – by replacing an outdated system with a more secure and user-friendly one.

Additionally, there are designated teams, such as Cyber Security NSW and ID Support NSW, to respectively drive improvements across the public sector on managing sensitive data, and support people impacted by cyber and data breaches.

Last October, Digital NSW launched its NSW Digital Strategy, outlining clear actions for different government agencies.

“For the first time, the NSW Digital Strategy talks about ‘how’ NSW Government plans to progress the state in digital with the introduction of commitments.

“By publishing these commitments, we are holding ourselves accountable while also supporting NSW Departments and agencies to collaborate and avoid working in silos,” she shares.

She adds that the progress of the commitments and updates on the digital work being done across NSW government will be published online.