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- ATO
ATO captures billions of dollars from tax cheats with AI
The ATO is using artificial intelligence to trawl through its large data sets and deliver new insights that are impossible for humans to identify.
- Tess Bennett
- Analysis
- Government Observed
Identity reforms open new era of personalised government
The ambitious aim to have a working digital identity system up and running by the middle of next year paves the way for a raft of personalised government services.
- Tom Burton
We won’t be held hostage by big tech: Shorten
Bill Shorten says government must stand up to big technology firms and consultants to ensure services benefit citizens and costly failures are avoided.
- Ronald Mizen and Paul Smith
Be sceptical when big tech promises to self-regulate AI: eSafety boss
“Frankly I don’t think AI pledges are going to work”, Australia’s eSafety commissioner Julie Inman Grant has warned.
- Tess Bennett
Put your licence away – Australia’s digital ID could be here next year
The days of Australians scrambling to pull together their passport and multiple personal identity documents to use online services could soon be over.
- Paul Smith
July 2023
- Opinion
- Opinion
Government online should be a one-stop-shop. But don’t expect it soon
State and federal governments are trying to make access to digital services easier, but there is still a long way to go.
- Jennifer Hewett
Robo-debt ‘bullies, sycophants’ not the public service Shorten knows
A cabal of bullies and sycophants was responsible for suppressing frank and fearless advice about robo-debt, Bill Shorten says.
- Ronald Mizen
SAP invests in new Aussie facility to target critical infrastructure deals
The Australian arm of German software giant SAP has opened a new sovereign cloud computing facility, at an undisclosed location, to meet increased demands from government agencies and some companies.
- Tom Burton
AI misinformation attacks are inevitable, warns US expert
AI-fuelled misinformation and cyberattacks are inevitable and organisations should be running playbooks to respond, according to a US security expert.
- Tom Burton
Gallagher to reset consulting after PwC, robo-debt
A new approach to hiring consultants is being rolled out in the federal government to ensure reports are robust and not written to simply endorse government decisions.
- Tom Burton
- Opinion
- Public service
Why we should stop demonising consultants
Canberra’s jihad against consultants has turned ideological, with a McCarthy-like vendetta against outside expertise.
- Updated
- Tom Burton
- Analysis
- Government Observed
New thinking, new leaders reboot digital government
How bureaucrats are retooling services for the public will dominate The Australian Financial Review Government Services Summit next week.
- Tom Burton
- Analysis
- AI
How government can safely embrace AI
The philosophy and practice of generative AI in government must be safe, smart and sensible.
- Martin Stewart-Weeks, Simon Cooper and Tom Burton
Robo-debt to add to anti-corruption body’s already long to-do list
National Anti-Corruption Commission boss Paul Brereton said 44 referrals have already been received by the new watchdog, two days after it got started.
- Tom McIlroy
June 2023
- Exclusive
- PwC tax scandal
Allegro to pay just $1 to save PwC’s government business
About 130 PwC partners and about 1750 staff from the firm’s embattled government consulting arm will join a new company codenamed Bell under the cut-price deal.
- Edmund Tadros, Neil Chenoweth and Kylar Loussikian
May 2023
- Analysis
- Government Observed
Start-up hub aims to build trust in a digital world
Fresh from retiring from NSW politics, former digital minister Victor Dominello has launched an initiative focused on avoiding mistakes of the digital past.
- Tom Burton
Delivering connected digital government services
Meeting the need for economy-wide, unified and trusted public services
April 2023
Australians will finally be able to renew their passports online
Allowing documents to be in electronic form, and to be executed using e-signatures, is expected to save businesses and individuals around $400 million.
- Tom Burton
- Opinion
- Digital transformation
How digital capitalism is making government irrelevant
The logic of the internet is leaving government hopelessly stuck in the 20th-century industrial age, trying to respond to the 21st-century digital era.
- Tom Burton
Shorten flags consequences for robo-debt enablers
Senior public servants involved in overseeing the illegal robo-debt scheme could face consequences if adverse findings are made by a royal commission.
- Maeve Bannister
March 2023
Regulator insists new data-sharing scheme won’t be a robo-debt repeat
A data-sharing scheme that allows government departments to share information about Australians has been explicitly designed to stop it being used to enforce laws.
- John Davidson
February 2023
- Opinion
- AI
Robo-debt disgrace shows why AI cannot replace important jobs
New AI systems such as ChatGPT are untrustworthy, and the robo-debt scandal has shown the peril of abdicating responsibility to unfeeling bots.
- Paul Smith
August 2022
- Analysis
- Inside Government
Who will lead on digital identity?
Getting a working digital identity system is critical to the deployment of personalised services that save users from having to deal with multiple government agencies.
- Tom Burton
July 2022
Creating a single front door to government
In his first major speech on government services new minister Bill Shorten pledges to back bold and courageous efforts to reform public services.
- Bill Shorten
Trust trinity in a post-globalised world
The demise of the post-war order is putting pressure on government to lift trust and engagement with its citizens and residents.
- Victor Dominello
