Meeting the Performance Standard
The Performance Standard is made up of 5 criteria to assist government agencies in monitoring, assessing and reporting digital service performance.
To successfully apply the Performance 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 (IOF)
Agencies are expected to consider how their proposal aligns to the Performance 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.
Measuring success of the Performance Standard
The DTA will measure success by reporting on agencies’ compliance with the Performance Standard.
Agencies are required to report on their compliance with the Performance Standard (post-implementation) to the DTA within specified timeframes and maintain continuous improvement against performance measures.
Data will be used by the DTA to provide advice on the performance of government services over time. It is not intended to compare services but support future prioritisation and investment decisions.
Agencies are required to demonstrate compliance through the DTA’s IOF data collection activities. For new or replacement digital services this will apply from 1 January 2025.
Further information can be found in the Compliance, reporting and exemption guide.
Guidance and resources
- Digital Performance Standard Guidance
- Digital and ICT Investment Oversight Framework
- Data and Digital Government Strategy
- Australian Government Architecture
- Benefits Management Policy
- The Australian Privacy Principles (oaic.gov.au)
Services covered by the Access Standard
The Access 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.
Informational services
Informational services provide users with information, 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.
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.
Access points
Access points are the online entry points or ‘front doors’ where users go to find and interact with government digital services. Access points for digital services typically take the form of:
- informational websites
- web applications accessed from a web browser
- online portals or platforms
- mobile apps.
For more information on how ‘portals’ are defined, please refer to the Australian Government Architecture (AGA).
OffServices not covered by the Digital Access Standard
The Digital Access Standard does not apply to:
- 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
- existing public-facing digital services
- Australian Public Service (APS) staff-facing services.
State, territory or local government, third parties and APS staff-facing systems may choose to apply the Digital Access Standard to improve access and discoverability of their digital services.
Some services may request an exemption from the Digital Access Standard. See the Exemptions section below.
Transition approach
The Digital Access Standard will be implemented in phases to target the requirements for agencies to connect new services for individuals to myGov. This will be followed by further decision-making principles that will consider digital service access more broadly.
- Phase 1: 1 January 2025 – New and replacement digital services for individuals suitable for myGov
- Phase 2: 1 January 2026 – All other new and replacement public-facing digital services for individuals as well as those for businesses and providers.
The DTA will regularly review the Digital Access Standard and make improvements as government service delivery and digital services mature. Improvements will be made in line with agency application and feedback.
Phase 1 – Services for individuals suitable for myGov
From 1 January 2025, services that meet the following criteria will be required to meet the Digital Access Standard.
- owned by non-corporate Commonwealth entities
- informational or transactional
- authenticated or unauthenticated
- new or replacement services
- public-facing digital services for individuals suitable for myGov.