-
The scope of the Policy
The DX Policy will be effective from 1 January 2025 and applies to Corporate and Non-Corporate Commonwealth Entities, as defined by the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013.
Services delivered after this date will be subject to requirements under the DX Policy. Compliance and processes will also commence from this date.
Agencies in scope of the DX Policy are expected to review and understand each Standard to determine which services are in scope of the requirements.
Services not covered by the DX Policy, for example state and territory services, may still choose to apply the DX Policy and standards to improve a quality digital experience for their users.
Note: The previously mandated Digital Service Standard will retain its effective date of 1 July 2024. However, from 1 January 2025 it will be aligned to the Digital Experience Policy suite of standards.
Services covered by the Digital Experience Policy
The Digital Experience Policy covers the digital components of government services, noting that many services include both digital and non-digital channels designed to work together.
This Policy applies to digital services with multimedia and gamified elements.
Informational, transactional and staff-facing services have been defined below to assist agencies to determine if this policy applies to their digital services.
-
How does the policy apply to the standards?
-
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.
-
I am an Australian business
I want support and advice for working with and engaging government. -
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.
-
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.
-
-
-
Policy requirements
To comply with this policy, agencies must consider the impact to the holistic experience of people and business when interacting with government. This includes when designing, developing, implementing and operating digital services.
To support this, agencies must:
- Design and deliver services that are user-friendly, inclusive, adaptable and measurable.
- Consider existing digital access points when developing a new digital service in consultation with the DTA.
- Design and build new digital services to be able to integrate with primary digital access points such as myGov (where appropriate).
- Implement all 5 Digital Performance Standard criteria as part of any in scope ICT investment deliverables.
- Engage with the DTA through relevant IOF touchpoints, providing the required information to assess compliance with the policy.
- Contact the DTA if unsure how to comply with the DX Policy, if the digital investment or service is in scope of the DX Policy, or to apply for an exemption.
-
Governance approach
The Digital Transformation Agency (DTA) is the product owner of the DX Policy and accompanying standards. This includes:
- the ongoing day-to-day operation of the policy and standards
- developing guidance to support agencies to apply the standards
- the collection and analysis of data related to agency compliance
- assessment of services through the IOF process
- reporting outcomes and compliance to Secretaries’ Data and Digital Committee (SDDC) and other interested parties
- review and assessment of exemption requests received by agencies.
Agencies with services in scope of the policy will be responsible for:
- ensuring services meet the requirements set out in the standards
- the ongoing application of the standards against all services
- reporting to the DTA in line with the timeframes set in the supporting materials.
Changes to the standards will be governed and approved through the SDDC and the Digital Leadership Committee (DLC). This approach will make sure the policies and standards remain relevant and current, while considering the diverse needs of agencies across government.
The proposed exemption process and monitoring frameworks will be agreed through the SDDC and the DLC prior to implementation across agencies.
Off -
-
-
Exemptions
The DTA acknowledge that some agencies may be unable to meet one or more of the criteria set out by the standards mandated by the policy due to a range of circumstances.
These circumstances may include, but are not limited to:
- where an agency is unable to meet requirements due to legacy technology barriers that cannot be overcome
- where changing a service to meet the requirements would cause substantial financial burden on the service agency.
Exemptions will not apply at a ‘whole of policy’ level. This means your service will not be made exempt from complying with the Digital Experience Policy in its entirety. Instead, exemptions may be granted for one or more of the criteria set out in the standards mandated by the policy, depending on the circumstances. This will be assessed on a case-by-case basis and must be formally applied for through the DTA.
Further information can be found in the Digital Experience Policy Exemption Guide.
-
-
Supporting material
-
I am an Australian business
I want support and advice for working with and engaging government.
Connect with the digital community
Share, build or learn digital experience and skills with training and events, and collaborate with peers across government.