Data to be a central plank of govt: Taylor

The federal government is determined to transform data into a central plank of how government operates, and has commissioned a data strategy to fulfil this aim.

In a presentation to the Chief Data Analytics Officer Public Sector Forum, Assistant Minister for Cities and Digital Transformation Angus Taylor said he commissioned consultancy PwC to draw up the data strategy late last year.

“I see this strategy as fundamentally important,” he said, noting that the government will focus on three main areas — analytics, policy problems and efficient payments.

“PwC has reported that in 2013, data-driven innovation added an estimated $67 billion in new value to the Australian economy, or 4.4% of GDP,” Taylor said.

“Studies also project that access to new-generation, high-precision positioning data and services alone could raise real GDP in Australia by between $7.8 and $13.7 billion by 2020. Data is also fundamentally important for how we can transform the customer service experience.”

In terms of analytics, Taylor said producing high-quality analytics from specially skilled teams — and using the resulting data to tackle policy problems — is one of the most important developments he wants to see in government. But there remains a lack of understanding among decision-makers as to the data that is available and how it can help solve policy issues.

“But I have also found this in reverse. Data specialists in government are generally not bullish with their capability and don’t advertise their skills well. Which is a problem — because their capability is exciting,” he said.

One of the most exciting emerging capabilities is integrated datasets, Taylor said. They offer the greatest opportunities for the government to prioritise resources in high-cost areas and important services, conduct targeted intervention programs and reduce duplicate data collection and analysis costs.

A number of city-related policy problems can also be greatly improved by data, in areas ranging from planning and implementation to progress tracking.

“That is why the Cities Reference Group has been discussing key datasets that will underpin the indicators for our performance framework cities. It’s also why I have asked the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet to use the recently established data governance groups to better coordinate the delivery of cities data,” Taylor said.

Finally, accurate and detailed data can help ensure more efficient government payments and help agencies practice preventative compliance.

“Now when we mention compliance, people immediately think of debt collecting. But what I’m talking about is making sure the payment that goes out the door is right. It’s a fundamentally important service delivery tool for the citizen,” Taylor said.

“And for many years and across both sides of government, beneficiaries of payments have been incurring debts which often are unintended. It’s a big problem for citizens and it’s a big problem for government. Because every dollar that goes out the door incorrectly requires more money to recoup it.”

Assets such as the G-NAF database, the most complete address dataset for Australia, can act as critical tools to ensure accurate payments are made.

“If we don’t accurately know where a beneficiary’s address is in Australia, then there is a good chance that we will make an incorrect payment. Particularly for those payments that have a remoteness test or a location-specific payment. There can be zero error or fraud from either the beneficiary or the public servant processing the claim,” Taylor said.

Ultimately, Taylor concluded, data will be crucial to the government’s efforts to deliver more services to the right people for less. But meeting this potential will require increased scrutiny and responsibility on the behalf of government.

Pictured: Assistant Minister for Cities and Digital Transformation Angus Taylor.