The NSW Government has renewed its focus on digital inclusivity, accessibility and security in its new Digital Strategy to support the day-to-day operations of community members and businesses.

The new strategy has been developed around five core “missions” and will also include an Australia-first way to track the progress made towards the state’s digital goals.

The missions include:

• Accessibility: Make digital services accessible, inclusive and connected for all people in NSW;
• Productivity: Use digital to advance service delivery, support the local economy and drive productivity;
• Trust: Build trust through reliable, stable government services and sustainable digital infrastructure;
• Resilience: Keep NSW safe and resilient for emergencies online and in-person; and
• Digital Skills: Uplift digital capability in our public sector workforce​.

The strategy also serves as a roadmap for the state government to leverage its digital transformation progress and growing capabilities to boost economic activity, improve service delivery and better connect regional and rural communities.

The strategy is the next step in the NSW Government’s plan to develop its digital government capabilities, as it builds on the success of existing projects such as the NSW digital identity and verification system.

“The NSW Digital Strategy lays the foundation for a future for digital services that are more secure, inclusive and accessible, and is a commitment to improving people’s daily lives,” Minister for Customer Service and Digital Government, Jihad Dib, said.

“This strategy is about more than just technology— it’s about people and how we build world-class digital services that strengthen our communities while supporting economic growth.

“Our key missions of accessibility, productivity, trust, resilience and skills will help ensure we deliver with purpose on the things people need, like increasing access to government services.”

Within the five missions, the strategy also solidifies the government’s focus on:

• Safe, ethical and responsible use of artificial intelligence (AI);
• Investing in digitalisation of services;
• Stakeholder collaboration to design digital services with the interests and needs of end users in mind;
• Upskilling the NSW workforce to be better prepared for a digital future and equipping frontline workers with the best possible digital solutions;
• Building and cementing trust in government services regarding handling and collection of personal; information and private data;
• Ensuring safe and reliable information sharing;
• Replacing legacy and outdated technology;
• Providing effective communication and connectivity services to encourage resilience in emergencies; and
• Strengthening cyber measures and improving interoperability between agencies.

Dib also announced several key initiatives set to come to fruition under the strategy, including:

• “Delivery of the NSW Digital ID and NSW Digital Wallet to enable a safer, more inclusive digital economy by streamlining services and providing a secure way to prove who you are;
• The state’s first Digital Inclusion Strategy, informed by community input which shows that key barriers to inclusion include not just location, physical challenges and economic factors, but also confidence in digital skills and trust in digitalisation;
• Better coordination of information and communications technology spending across government to reduce duplication and an enhanced approach to cyber security coordination, governance and investment;
• Supporting housing delivery by improving the NSW Planning Portal and developing the Digital Housing Pipeline, an initiative that offers access to information on the delivery of new homes, facilitating improved collaboration among developers, government agencies and homeowners to streamline the process from planning to occupancy;
• Delivering secure and resilient critical communications for emergency services and supporting communities during disasters by building on projects like the Hazards Near Me app which includes fire, storm, tsunami and flood information; and
• Updating strategies to leverage data and use artificial intelligence to enhance the response to natural disasters and emergencies through tools like RFS Athena which predicts fire behaviour.”