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When to apply
Apply Criterion 4 during the Discovery phase to help consider capabilities and services available to improve user experience and promote reuse.
This criterion requires agencies to apply and follow a set of decision-making principles to determine where a new service is best placed within the existing landscape of government digital services. The decision-making framework will apply based on the users of the new digital service:
- citizen-facing services (for individuals)
- business and provider-facing services.
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Question for consideration
- Are users accessing the new service as a private individual, as a representative of a business, as a representative of a service provider, or a combination of these roles?
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Guidance and resources Off
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Guidance to follow the decision-making framework
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Next page: Criterion 5 – Engage with delivery partners
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Services covered by the Digital Inclusion Standard
The Inclusion Standard is mandatory and applies from 1 January 2025 to informational and transactional digital services that are:
- subject to the requirements of the Investment Oversight Framework (IOF)
- new or replacement public facing
- new staff facing
- all existing public facing
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Informational services
Informational services provide information to users, such as reports, fact sheets or videos. They may include:
- government agency websites
- smart answers and virtual assistants
- e-learning
- publications
- online libraries
- databases and data warehouses.
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Transactional services
Transactional services lead to a change in government-held records, typically involving an exchange of information, money, licences or goods.
Examples of transactional services include:
- logging in to a portal or platform
- submitting a claim
- registering a business
- updating contact details
- lodging a tax return
- subscribing to newsletters
- grant applications
- public consultation submissions.
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Staff-facing services
Staff facing services provide information to government employees or support employee transactions. They may include:
- intranets
- learning management systems
- records management systems
- case/client management systems
- decision-making systems
- any systems or platforms utilised by staff.
For more information on how ‘portals’ are defined, please refer to the Australian Government Architecture (AGA).
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Digital experience
Digital experiences are the interactions and engagements a user has with a digital service, including its usability, design and the overall user satisfaction.
Digital inclusion
Digital inclusion is the capability of individuals or groups to enjoy the benefits of being online and using technology confidently to improve their day-to-day lives. (See What is Digital Inclusion? for more information.)
Services not covered by the Digital Inclusion Standard
The Digital Inclusion Standard does not apply to:
- corporate Commonwealth entities
- state, territory or local government services
- personal ministerial websites that contain a minister’s political activities or views on issues not related to their ministerial role.
Services not covered by the Digital Inclusion Standard, such as existing staff-facing services, may choose to apply the Digital Inclusion Standard to improve their digital services.
Some services may request an exemption from the Digital Inclusion Standard. See the Exemptions section below.
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Next page: Meeting the Digital Inclusion Standard
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Measuring success of the Digital Inclusion Standard
We will measure success by reporting on agencies’ compliance with the Inclusion Standard.
Agencies are required to report on their compliance with the Inclusion Standard to the DTA within specified timeframes and maintain continuous improvement against performance measures.
Agencies are required to demonstrate compliance through DTA’s current and any future data collection activities that support the IOF.
- For new or replacement services this will apply from 1 January 2025
- For existing public facing services this will apply from 1 January 2026
Further information can be found in the Compliance, reporting and exemption guide.
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Meeting the Inclusion Standard
The Inclusion Standard is made up of 5 criteria that help government agencies design and deliver inclusive and accessible services for all people and business.
To successfully apply the Inclusion Standard, agencies must meet all the criteria.
Agencies are strongly encouraged to consider how the criteria applies across the whole service lifecycle.
It is recommended that agencies also consider the non-digital experience of users to make sure services are inclusive and accessible for all.
Alignment with the Investment Oversight Framework
Agencies are expected to consider how their proposal aligns to the Inclusion Standard throughout all the IOF states. A diagram showing how each standard applies across the IOF touchpoints can be found within the Digital Experience Policy.
Exemptions
The DTA acknowledge that some agencies may be unable to meet one or more of the criteria set out by the Inclusion Standard due to a range of circumstances.
Further information can be found in the Compliance, reporting and exemption guide.
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Next page: Measuring success of the Digital Inclusion Standard
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Criterion 1. Embrace diversity
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Next page: Criterion 1 – Embrace diversity
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Criterion 2 – Motivate digital use
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Next page
Criterion 3 – Protect users
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Criterion 4 – Make it accessible
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Criterion 5 – Provide flexibility and choice
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Back to the Digital Inclusion Standard
Connect with the digital community
Share, build or learn digital experience and skills with training and events, and collaborate with peers across government.