E-government in Australia

r!Jver the last decade, Australian governments at all levels have been planning and implementing broad policies for the application arid use of inforn1ation and communication technologies (ICTs) by the general public and the business community.Central to these plans has been the role of the government in guiding the development of the infrastructure, initiating and/ or funding projects, and coordinating strategies across agency and sectoral boundaries and interests.Equally important has been the role of government agencies in leading the use of ICTs for improving their own information management and for delivering services.This leadership role has been one of the key strategies of e-government development in Australia.That development has followed a steady, although somewhat fragmented, path to a point where it is consistently ranked very highly against other countries on international indices of e-government development.The path is fragmented because, as will emerge from the outline of the progress of e-government in Australia, there have been a number of public sector agencies involved, with changing functions and responsibilities for policy planning, implementation, and monitoring.One constant has been the objective of making government "an exemplar in the use ofiCT to improve citizen engagement, efficiency, and effectiveness of service deliv-e1y."1The three broad goals of e-government reflected in this statement are present in the major ICT policies of all tiers of government in Australia, 2 that is, to improve the efficiency of information management practices within and across government agencies and jurisdictions; to deliver fast, timely, and appropriate information and services electronically for business and the wider community; and to allow greater opportunities for citizen interaction with government and government processes progressing from more access to full participation in government or e-democracy.To date, most emphasis has been on the first two goals, although more attention is now being paid to the third.3 This chapter includes a brief outline of some important historical developments; an overview of current e-government approaches, policies, and achievements; and coverage of future developments.The focus is on the policies and strategies of the Australian federal government, although information and examples will also be provided from state and local governments as appropriate.To help in understanding the political and social context for policymaking in the infornution and communications area, the chapter unfolds with some general background information on Australia.