Putting Service Back Into Government Services
Australians have always prided themselves on a warm sense of hospitality and service, whether it’s welcoming our international visitors or in the local cafe downtown. For a nation that sometimes struggles with a juvenile approach to history, tradition and equality, Australia is also a place where increasingly, quality, personality and service are valued above all else.
The New South Wales and Federal governments are, along with a wealth of creative entrepreneurs and hospitality tycoons, at the forefront of this movement. Taking cues from our more efficient, forward thinking international neighbours, Australian bodies are working on the most efficient, easy to use systems, accessible to all members of the public. Thus far, we have seen the introduction of the Opal system to NSW public transport, the legalisation of ridesharing services such as Uber, a whole host of meal delivery services making top tier restaurants across Sydney accessible at home, and a streamlining of numerous government services and associations.
The largest and most affecting change the NSW government has made is the amalgamation of Centrelink, Medicare and the Roads and Traffic Authority into Service NSW. Until 2013 these services were divided into individual units, with unique systems of operation and public service methods. Former NSW Premier Barry O’Farrell stated in the initial 2013 press release, “We are delivering the change the people of NSW have called for, including transforming services to put you – our customers – at the centre. Service NSW is bringing the services we provide together in one place to give you simpler and even better access to Government.”
Since then, the Service NSW unified centres have been rolled out across the state, both as shopfronts and with web and phone portals, creating a complete one stop shop and point of contact for all government requests and information. Through Service NSW individuals can apply for a licence, renew a vehicle registration, receive welfare payments and make a medicare claim, saving time and energy moving between shopfronts. The service is more efficient, information is consistent, and many services can be accessed both in person, and online or via the new mobile app.
Other government departments have quickly followed suit, including NSW Caselaw and Juror, both projects Toast has worked on to improve the customer journey, user experience and accessibility. The NSW Jury Service calls on some 200,000 jurors each year to partake in Jury duty, a necessary facet of the State and Federal justice system. The 2015 rebrand draws on three verbs, ‘observe, listen, decide’, and combined with imagery of everyday Australians from around NSW, to portray a sense of inclusion, responsibility and pride to the public for undertaking necessary jury duty. This was paired with a dramatically improved digital interface that, like Service NSW, is a central portal for the jury system, providing a simple, intuitive user experience. The Jury Management system stores information on jurors and contains algorithms used to randomly select jurors from the four-million NSW residents enrolled in the electoral roll. This has greatly simplified the selection process, and created an efficient portal for the public to use in accepting, declining and accessing information about jury duty.
The push to take services, points of contact and information online has forced businesses and government agencies to assess how their information is attained. NSW Caselaw, in an effort to be more accessible, now publishes all decisions for all courts and tribunals across the state online. Similar to Service NSW and NSW Juror, NSW Caselaw rebranded, emphasising a unity with streamlined state government branding and improved user experience.
Australians are increasingly looking abroad to nations like Japan, Sweden and Norway for the future of our public health, transport and government service systems. The improvement of state government service, access and communication in NSW is a uniquely Australian response. One that champions Australian hospitality and values as well as efficiency, accuracy and accessibility. Together with the NSW State and Federal Australian governments, we’re working to develop clean, attractive, user friendly service systems that rival those of our foreign allies. We’re asking Australians what you want, and what we can improve; then delivering it to you, the Australian way.