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Digital experiences are the interactions and engagements a user has with a digital service, including its useability and design and the users’ overall satisfaction

Digital inclusion is the capability of individuals or groups to enjoy the benefits of being online and use technology confidently to improve their day-to-day lives.2

The Digital Inclusion Standard does not apply to:

• corporate commonwealth entities
• state, territory or local government services
• personal ministerial websites that contain material on a minister’s political activities
• existing staff-facing services

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.

From 1 January 2025, services that meet the following criteria will be required to meet the Digital Inclusion Standard:  

• public or staff-facing
• owned by non-corporate Commonwealth entities
• new (including redesigned) informational and transactional services. 

When to apply

Apply Criterion 1 during the Discovery phase to gain a deep understanding of your problem, the service’s business case and the policy and strategic landscape. 

As government is always evolving, revisit this criterion across the Service Design and Delivery Process to ensure your service remains fit for purpose.

How to apply

Questions for consideration 

• What problem exists?
• What is happening in the policy and service landscape?
• What government priorities and initiatives align to the problem space?
• What might success look like?

Be outcomes focused: Consider what problems your service needs to solve and why they are important. Share your early-stage assumptions, gather diverse perspectives from stakeholders and take advantage of pre-existing data and resources. Clearly state the risks of action and inaction, who might be impacted, potential barriers to success and your knowledge gaps.

Frame the problem: Form a simple, clear problem statement from the evidence that’s already available. Use it as the basis of further research and validation, and to identify the users you need to engage with.

Don’t jump to solutions: Don’t anticipate a technical or design solution before validating the problems you’ve identified. Evaluate the rest of the Standard’s criteria to understand what else could drive the problem. Consider whether a new solution is required or if an existing platform or service might achieve the best outcome.

Align stakeholders to a vision: Engage key stakeholders to establish a shared vision for success. Ensure clear expectations are set for the project and everyone knows why change is necessary.

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.

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.