Mission 1
Make digital services accessible, inclusive and connected for everyone in NSW.
Our goals
The NSW Government is committed to making sure everyone can access our digital services. As our lives become increasingly digitised, it’s important that no one gets left behind on their digital journey.
Our goal is to use digital to better understand and meet the diverse needs of our 8 million residents. To deliver this, we’ll prioritise accessibility and inclusivity in our digital services, and improve connectivity across NSW, including in regional and rural communities.
To provide digital services for everyone, we will:
1A: Make digital services inclusive
1B: Improve connectivity across NSW, including in regional and rural communities
1C: Make sure digital services meet accessibility requirements
1D: Design digital services based on the needs of the community
How we’ll get there
1A: Make digital services inclusive
NSW is home to 32% of Australia’s population and is one of the most diverse states in the world.1 We are committed to making digital services inclusive by supporting all NSW communities on their digital journey. This includes people with disability, people from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, people of all age groups, and those located in regional and rural areas.
Our goal is to make it easier for everyone to access government digital services by uplifting digital literacy skills in the community through programs and initiatives to address the digital divide. The digital divide happens when some people in the community can easily access information and services online while others cannot.
We’re also committed to providing an ongoing and equivalent level of service to those less able to use digital services and will maintain face-to-face and over the phone options for our communities. For example, people can access government services in person through over 117 Service NSW Centres, which serve over 115,000 customers a week,² and over the phone via 13 77 88.
Related commitments
- Provide more options for people to access government websites using languages other than English
- Build a NSW Digital ID to enable citizens to securely prove their identity when transacting online
- Make it easier and safer for citizens of NSW to interact with government and business by building a NSW Digital ID & Wallet
Progress we’ve made in this area
- Building on community-led digital inclusion initiatives to develop a NSW Digital Inclusion Strategy. This strategy underpins how future digital inclusion initiatives will be identified, delivered and funded.
- Improving connectivity and bandwidth through the NSW Connectivity Strategy. This shows how agencies can work together to address issues around poor connectivity and deliver modern, high-speed digital networks that are available to all.
- Creating tools to help understand connectivity like the NSW Digital Connectivity Index. The index allows agencies to measure the quality of digital connectivity across NSW through 3 key elements: access, affordability and ability.
1B: Improve connectivity across NSW, including in regional and rural communities
Digital inclusion is when everyone can access, afford and engage with digital services and technology. This requires developing affordable and resilient infrastructure (like the internet) with comprehensive coverage and sufficient bandwidth.
Without access to the internet, communities risk being excluded from critical parts of society including job opportunities, transportation and education.
Our goal is to connect communities across NSW and provide equal access to digital opportunities and services. This includes people and communities who are known to experience lower levels of digital inclusion, like:
- people living in regional, rural and remote areas
- people from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
- culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) people
- people with disability
- gender diverse people.
Related commitments
- Provide more options for people to access government websites using languages other than English
- Build a NSW Digital ID to enable citizens to securely prove their identity when transacting online
- Make it easier and safer for citizens of NSW to interact with government and business by building a NSW Digital ID & Wallet
Progress we’ve made in this area
- Building on community-led digital inclusion initiatives to develop a NSW Digital Inclusion Strategy. This strategy underpins how future digital inclusion initiatives will be identified, delivered and funded.
- Improving connectivity and bandwidth through the NSW Connectivity Strategy. This shows how agencies can work together to address issues around poor connectivity and deliver modern, high-speed digital networks that are available to all.
- Creating tools to help understand connectivity like the NSW Digital Connectivity Index. The index allows agencies to measure the quality of digital connectivity across NSW through 3 key elements: access, affordability and ability.
1C: Make sure digital services meet accessibility requirements
It’s important that the NSW Government delivers products and services that everyone can use, regardless of age, ability and circumstances. We have made significant progress in this area and are developing a roadmap to help agencies make sure their digital products meet international accessibility standards.
Related commitments
- Provide more options for people to access government websites using languages other than English
- Build a NSW Digital ID to enable citizens to securely prove their identity when transacting online
- Make it easier and safer for citizens of NSW to interact with government and business by building a NSW Digital ID & Wallet
Progress we’ve made in this area
- Building on community-led digital inclusion initiatives to develop a NSW Digital Inclusion Strategy. This strategy underpins how future digital inclusion initiatives will be identified, delivered and funded.
- Improving connectivity and bandwidth through the NSW Connectivity Strategy. This shows how agencies can work together to address issues around poor connectivity and deliver modern, high-speed digital networks that are available to all.
- Creating tools to help understand connectivity like the NSW Digital Connectivity Index. The index allows agencies to measure the quality of digital connectivity across NSW through 3 key elements: access, affordability and ability.
1D: Design digital services based on the needs of the community
We need to design digital services based on the diverse needs of the people of NSW. To achieve this the NSW Government will engage with the community through public consultations, workshops, online surveys and extensive user testing.
We’ll use human-centred design principles to listen, learn and evolve our digital services and adapt to community needs. This will help us to continue to build reliable and trusted services for everyone.
Related commitments
- Provide more options for people to access government websites using languages other than English
- Build a NSW Digital ID to enable citizens to securely prove their identity when transacting online
- Make it easier and safer for citizens of NSW to interact with government and business by building a NSW Digital ID & Wallet
Progress we’ve made in this area
- Building on community-led digital inclusion initiatives to develop a NSW Digital Inclusion Strategy. This strategy underpins how future digital inclusion initiatives will be identified, delivered and funded.
- Improving connectivity and bandwidth through the NSW Connectivity Strategy. This shows how agencies can work together to address issues around poor connectivity and deliver modern, high-speed digital networks that are available to all.
- Creating tools to help understand connectivity like the NSW Digital Connectivity Index. The index allows agencies to measure the quality of digital connectivity across NSW through 3 key elements: access, affordability and ability.
Underpin trust in government through reliable, stable digital services and sustainable Digital Infrastructure.