What happens at this state
The DTA collaborates with agencies to develop their digital and ICT-enabled investment proposals and assesses their readiness for potential investment using whole-of-government digital and ICT policies and standards through the Digital Capability Assessment Process (DCAP).
For high-cost and high-risk proposals (generally a digital and ICT-enabled proposal expected to have a total whole-of-life cost of $30 million or more, including digital and ICT costs of $10 million or more) agencies must seek DTA advice to determine whether the ICT Investment Approval Process (IIAP) applies.
Why is it important
The Contestability state serves as a critical checkpoint in the IOF, safeguarding the integrity of digital and ICT investment proposals by ensuring they are well-conceived, strategically aligned and poised to deliver tangible benefits for the Australian public. The Contestability and Prioritisation states work closely together as proposals are further developed prior to submission to ERC.
What agencies need to do
Agencies should engage with the DTA’s Contestability team as early as possible when developing a digital and ICT-enabled investment proposal for government consideration. The Budget Process Operational Rules require agencies to consult with the DTA within mandated timeframes for digital and ICT-enabled proposals.
Agencies must provide the DTA with all the necessary information at least 6 working days prior to the release of an Exposure Draft, the lodgement of a short form paper, or submission to the Prime Minister. For proposals subject to the IIAP, this generally requires agencies to provide the DTA with draft business cases at least 7 weeks prior to the Cabinet consideration date and for final business cases at least 1 week before circulating the Cabinet Submission for coordination comments.
To complete the assessment processes, agencies must provide strong evidence demonstrating that the proposal aligns with whole-of-government digital and ICT strategies, policies and standards and can be successfully delivered.
What agencies need to do
When planning to bring forward digital and ICT-enabled proposals, you should contact the DTA as early as possible to determine if the IIAP applies. Early engagement with the DTA ensures that you will receive timely advice and support throughout your business case’s development.
Where multiple agencies are involved in the delivery of your digital and ICT proposal, all agencies may need to engage with the DTA.
You should also contact your Chief Finance Officer (CFO) unit to ensure that you are aware of and comply with current Department of Finance Estimates Memorandums, covering the Budget Process Operational Rules and the IIAP.
Proposals subject to the IIAP follow a staged approval process (previously known as the ‘two pass’ Cabinet approval process). At each stage of approval, agencies must develop a business case to provide Cabinet and its relevant committees with sufficient information about the proposal to make an informed investment decision.
The DTA can work with you to determine the minimum business case requirements relevant to your proposal. The process is designed to be flexible to cater for different types and complexities of ICT enabled proposals that require Cabinet approval. For example, second pass may result in a one-off approval process or, for more complex proposals, subsequent stages may be required.
In developing your business cases, you must consider how your proposal aligns with whole-of-government ICT standards and policies, including Cyber Security.
You should also contact your Chief Finance Officer (CFO) unit to ensure that you are aware of and comply with current Department of Finance Estimates Memorandums, covering the Budget Process Operational Rules and the ICT Investment Approval process.
Why is it important
The DTA provides digital sourcing advice and support to over 300 government organisations and over 2,900 approved sellers (April 2025) on a broad range of ICT procurement matters from simple to complex.
The government currently receives significant financial benefits from the DTAs Marketplaces and Arrangements through discounts and the avoidance of duplicative costs.
As an example, in the 2023-24 financial year the DTA delivered substantial savings and efficiencies through our panels and arrangements, resulting in an estimated return of $6.4 million to the consolidated revenue fund. These achievements are crucial as they demonstrate our commitment to providing value for money to the government.
In addition, we provide advice on the application of digital sourcing policies and manage the process for policy exemptions for contracts exceeding the $100M value limit or the 3-year term limit of the Digital Sourcing Contract Limits and Reviews Policy.
What agencies need to do
When buying digital products and services for government, agencies need to understand when and how to use the DTA’s digital sourcing policies and whole-of-government procurement arrangements. They also need to know how to buy digital products and services in line with the Commonwealth Procurement Rules and relevant procurement connected policies.
What the DTA will do
Our marketplaces provide government buyers with access to evaluated sellers who offer a range of digital products and services and have been assessed against relevant criteria and procurement connected policies, saving buyers time and resources.
Our Single Seller Arrangements offer pre-negotiated contracts with strategically identified sellers. These arrangements deliver cost efficiencies to government by aggregating demand and have better terms and conditions than traditionally offered by the sellers.
We also manage the policies that govern how agencies buy digital products and services which aim to simplify government procurement and level the playing field for industry sellers.
Public evaluation briefing
Thank you to those who attended our public briefing on Friday 25 October 2024. Catch up on the briefing below or download a copy of the slide deck (PDF, 120KB).
In the coming weeks, the DTA will publish answers to questions from attendees on this page. To receive updates, consider subscribing to the DTA's AI in government newsletter.
General inclusion
Do’s
- Use common patterns for design components.
- Use a linear, logical layout.
- Write in plain English.
- Display clear hints and error messages, with appropriate symbols, below text boxes.
- Provide content in a variety of mediums to support different preferences.
- Build in modern coding languages e.g. HTML 5 or later.
- Ensure code scripts are readable by, and work with, support tools.
- Test using keyboards for navigation and different browsers.
- Reduce screen complexity by providing white space and content that is not cluttered.
- Start with accessibility in mind and test regularly throughout the design process.
Don’ts
- Limit or provide inconsistent touch tap areas.
- Provide hint text in boxes that disappear when the box is clicked.
- Use complex technical terms.
- Quickly ‘time out’.
- Force mouse or screen use.
- Require excessive validation processes for online applications.
- Make dynamic content that requires a lot of mouse movement.
- Use decorative or cursive font styles.
- Allow video or audio content to play automatically.
People who are blind or vision impaired
Do’s
- Use common patterns for design components.
- Use a linear, logical layout.
- Write in plain English.
- Show clear hints and error messages below text boxes using simple words and icons.
- Provide content in a variety of mediums to support different preferences.
- Build in modern coding languages e.g. HTML 5 or later.
- Ensure code scripts are readable by, and work with, support tools.
- Test using keyboards for navigation and different browsers.
- Reduce on screen complexity by providing white space and content that is not cluttered.
- Include accessibility in the design as early as possible and test application of standards throughout.
Don’ts
- Limit or provide inconsistent touch tap areas.
- Provide hint text in boxes that disappear when the box is clicked.
- Use complex technical terms.
- Quickly ‘time out’.
- Force mouse or screen use.
- Require excessive validation processes for online applications.
- Make dynamic content that requires a lot of mouse movement.
- Use decorative or cursive font styles.
- Allow video or audio content to play automatically.
People who are cultural and linguistically diverse (CALD)
Do’s
- Use clear headings and simple language. Provide definitions if needed.
- Consider cultural context, like warnings for photos of deceased persons.
- Use images and videos to simplify and explain information.
- Provide guides and documents in a variety of languages.
- Use certified translators for critical information.
- Provide translations and custom help text on the same page.
- Consider how service changes may impact users who rely on consistency.
- Provide alternative contact methods, including interpreter services.
- Provide user feedback when an action is completed correctly.
- Provide translated error messages to support troubleshooting.
Don’ts
- Use complex layouts, structures or menus.
- Separate related information across different webpages.
- Provide video or audio information, unless also accompanied by text.
- Use complicated words, figures of speech or long blocks of text.
- Rely on automatic translations. Check translated terms for accuracy.
People who are Deaf or hard of hearing
Do’s
- Ensure all videos have transcripts, captions and provide text descriptions for images.
- Provide content in a variety of mediums to support different preferences.
- Offer users options for how they interact with your service.
- Make it easy to access support services.
Don’ts
- Only show information in an image or video.
- Spread content all over a page.
- Rely on text size and placement for structure.
- Force mouse or screen use.
- Write uninformative links and headings – for example, Click here
People impacted by family and domestic violence
Do’s
- Provide clear information on how safety concerns are reported and escalated.
- Offer a simple ‘quick exit’ function.
- Make it easy to restrict access from personal or shared accounts.
- Offer choice about how and when to receive information.
- Offer translation software that enables non-English speakers to access support.
- Use empathy in the tone of communications.
Don’ts
- Make users re-explain sensitive circumstances across government services.
- Send communications during hours where user action is unlikely to occur.
- Make users complete processes in a single session.
- Complicate validation steps for applications.
People with low digital literacy
Do’s
- Allow users to start and stop processes across different communications channels.
- Accompany key takeaways with clear calls to action.
- Provide clear step by step instructions, to support key information and action points.
- Use progress indicators to show task advancement.
- Provide mobile responsive designs.
- Make it easy to reset passwords and build on tasks.
- Support older browsers and devices.
- Group related content together to improve discoverability.
- Use repeatable icons and visual cues to build user familiarity and confidence.
- Provide equivalent alternatives to auditory and visual content.
Don’ts
- Assume users have prior knowledge of digital tools.
- Play videos and audio content automatically.
- Use technical terminology.
- Limit the time available to complete tasks.
- Show error messages too quickly.
Neurodiverse people
Do’s
- Respect user settings to remove motion.
- Let users manage auto-refresh.
- Consider animations carefully.
- Use images such as icons and symbols with text.
- Provide plenty of white space around information.
- Carefully consider information display and order.
- Use progressive reveal to reduce cognitive load.
- Use clear affordance to help navigation.
- Keep content short, clear and simple.
- Let users change the contrast between background and text.
Don’ts
- Rely on device/user movement.
- Use strobing or rapid flashing effects.
- Use all uppercase letters.
- Use text that is both left and right justified on the same page.
People with physical disability
Do’s
- Design with ‘mobile first’ design patterns.
- Test in both vertical and horizontal views.
- Remove navigation that requires complex hand movement.
- Ensure the touch tap area is the widest possible area and consistent across the site.
Don’ts
- Create interactions that require precision.
- Put multiple interactions together.
- Have short time out windows or error messages that display too soon.
- Tire users with lots of typing and scrolling.