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See the bigger picture: Assess how the problems you identified play out in the broader policy and government service ecosystems. Use resources (such as the Australian Government Architecture and Delivering Great Policy Toolkit) to understand the landscape and the intentions of different policies.

Align to government priorities: Have a clear understanding of how your service will contribute to government priorities including the achievement of the Data and Digital Government Strategy 2030 vision.

Criterion requirements

To successfully meet this criterion, agencies need to:

1. Consider diverse user needs from the outset.
2. Co-design the digital service and its accompanying artifacts.
3. Apply cohort-specific digital inclusion requirements.

For existing services, this means that agencies should demonstrate that the service meets the varied needs and perspectives of a wide range of user groups. 

Checklist items

• The needs of your diverse users and how the experience of the service differs between individuals from diverse backgrounds are understood.

  Best practice approaches:

  • Continuously involve users in the service delivery process by incorporating their perspectives, needs and feedback. Encourage shared ownership by co-designing accompanying artifacts, such as tutorials and guides, using language that is meaningful to all. Collect analytics and data and conduct interviews, surveys and observation on user needs, goals, expectations and behaviours.
     

• The service meets the needs of all cohorts that access the service.

  Best practice approaches:

  • Conduct regular usability testing with individuals from diverse backgrounds, including those with different abilities, ages and cultural contexts. Recognise that various aspects of a person’s identity, such as race, gender and age, all work together to shape their digital experience. Tailor the digital service to meet specific needs of user groups and promote inclusion to make sure support is provided at the appropriate level.

Optional

• Describe how the digital service complies with this criterion, referencing best practice approaches deployed where possible.

Criterion requirements 

To successfully meet this criterion, agencies need to: 

1. Communicate the benefits of adopting a digital channel.
2. Understand the motivations of your audience.
3. Make the digital service easy to use.

For existing services, this means that agencies should communicate the benefits of using a digital service, understood the motivations of their audience and made the digital service easy to use.

Checklist items

• The service clearly communicates , or communicated upon release, the benefits of being digital. 

      Best practice approaches: 

  • Provide clear and comprehensive information about the purpose and benefits of digital services. Where possible, highlight time savings, convenience and emphasise how these enhance the overall user experience.
  • Use inclusive language and imagery, avoiding stereotypes and biases when communicating with your audience. Consider diverse cultural perspectives and make sure content is simple, respectful, and welcoming for all.
     

• The motivations of the services’ targeted audience are understood.

   Best practice approaches: 

  • Use research and insights to understand the motivations of users and encourage them to remain engaged. This will help you understand if a service is too complicated or lacks support. To determine your current baseline of engagement, assess what proportion of your target audience engages online and work towards practices that encourage greater inclusion.
     

• The digital service is easy to use.

  Best practice approaches:

  • Consider demonstrating the service to new users. If possible, allow them to interact with the service and experience it firsthand. Prioritise interfaces that prioritised content that’s easy to find and make interactions as straightforward as possible.
  • Craft user guides with step-by-step instructions and include visual aids to support deeper levels of understanding. Provide a tiered structure in your support documentation, such as basic content for beginners and advanced topics for more experienced users. Determine where a self-service approach, such as online forums, can help users through their challenges.
  • Address challenges and make sure services are accessible so they allow for independence, empowerment and digital success. Remove barriers that may force users to help to others for help. This is particularly important for services that detail finance or health-related information that the users may prefer to keep private.
  • Encourage users to take their first digital step by lowering the barriers to getting started. For instance, promote awareness of the service through a variety of channels and offer hybrid service options, where available, that allow users to start a process offline and complete it online, easing them into the digital option.
  • Review internal and external data collection methods, where possible, support users to provide information only once. Minimising duplication helps reduce frustrations for users.
     

Optional

• Describe how the digital service complies with this criterion, referencing best practice approaches deployed where possible.

Criterion requirements

To successfully meet this criterion, agencies need to:

1. Establish and maintain a safe digital environment for users.
2. Counter scams and misinformation.
3. Provide transparency and feedback loops.

For existing services, this means that agencies must have mechanisms in place to ensure the service is safe, counters scams and misinformation and provides transparency and feedback loops by users.

Checklist items

• There are processes in place to ensure a safe digital environment for users of the service.

  Best practice approaches:

  • Hate speech and online abuse impacts participation and inclusion. Establish clear community guidelines on acceptable behaviour and proactively moderate digital content. Where appropriate, leverage technology to identifying instances of malicious behaviour and align to best practices outlined by the eSafety Commission.
     

• The service has measures in place to counter scams and misinformation.

  Best practice approaches:

  • Many digital users have encountered scams, fraud and loss of personal information. These experiences impact attitudes towards digital use. Help to ‘build trust in design’ by supporting the work of the National Anti-Scams Centre and mitigate misinformation by supporting the work of the Australian Communications and Media Authority.
     

• Transparency and feedback loops are provided for users of the service.

  Best practice approaches:

  • Communicate the safety measures that are in place to safeguard users against potential threats. Set up clear communication channels to report safety concerns and commit to resolving issues promptly.

Optional

• Describe how the digital service complies with this criterion, referencing best practice approaches deployed where possible:
   

Invest for the future: Consider whole-of-life investment costs, including maintenance and upgrades, to ensure proper investment across short-, medium- and long-term horizons. Familiarise with the Investment Oversight Framework and its thresholds. Get in touch with the Digital Transformation Agency for questions about the ICT Investment Approval Process and work with the relevant area of the Department of Finance to understand ongoing costs.