Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's pet agency, the Digital Transformation Office, is quietly planning a fundamental rethink of how Australians access government services online.
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The office, recently tasked with fixing the troubled myGov website, has unveiled a new prototype to replace thousands of government websites and deliver a long-overdue digital reboot.
Aware of the risks and expectations, acting head Radi Kovacevic said the office had cautiously launched a alpha version of the website to gauge feedback and concerns after an extended period of user research.
Mr Kovacevic, the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet's former chief information officer, said he was personally overseeing a gradual rollout of the project to mitigate risk.
"We know that there have been some big initiatives in government recently and things have not gone so well," he said.
"Our whole design standard and the way we do things is about bringing things back to basics and then evolving from there."
Mr Kovacevic and his colleagues will be hoping to avoid the disappointment of the myGov portal, which was launched in 2013 and used by millions of Australians accessing their Centrelink, Medicare, Child Support, Department of Veteran Affairs, e-health, and DisabilityCare accounts.
Serious problems emerged with the security and operability of the portal, with users complaining of being locked out of their accounts, outages and other glitches.
Close to one in eight Australian access government services online and the task of reforming digital portals has been described by DTO staff as "daunting".
"Some websites have not been refreshed for quite some time and this is a great opportunity for us to help them," Mr Kovacevic said.
"There are hundred of thousands of government pages and there is a capability improvement needed within the public service to create better content that people will use.
"We recognise that is going to be a significant transformation."
Mr Kovacevic said user research revealed many Australians found it difficult to understand what the government wanted from them when applying for services.
As a result, the beta project will create topic-based entry points drawing content and information from various websites and departments to be stored in one place.
The office has also signed a partnership with the UK government to share information on how to best restructure online services and information.
The agreement may include the exchange of staff and joint UK/Australian projects.
"This memorandum of understanding cements our plans, and outlines some of the opportunities to share expertise and work on common problems together, that will help bring that vision to life," DTO chief executive Paul Shetler said.
"Our efforts to transform government services in Australia have already benefited immensely from collaboration with colleagues across the Australian public service, across the tiers of government and across the globe."
Assistant Minister for Cities and Digital Transformation Angus Taylor, who launched the prototype, said it was time the public service caught up with digital programs in the private sector.
"The private sector has a strong lead on government, just look at the banks and their move over the past decade to bring transactions online," he said.
"Australians are also undertaking millions of transactions with government every year. If we make access to government digital channels easier and faster, we will improve uptake of services and the user experience."
