Government suppliers in New South Wales can soon operate through a single platform, with a new streamlined e-procurement service on its way.

NSW Minister for Finance, Services and Property, Victor Dominello, announced 'Buy.nsw' during his Plenary Keynote at the CeBIT business technology conference in Sydney on Tuesday, as a way to ease the process for the state government’s 10,000 suppliers.

“One of the things we need to work on is procurement,” Dominello said during his address. “There is no single way for a government to engage suppliers and vice versa.”

“Our goal for Buy.nsw is for it to be the first single government platform for all procurement.

“The platform will make it easier for government to find and compare suppliers, and for suppliers to market their services.”

The platform is due to go live on 31 May.

Dominello used Buy.nsw as an example of how the state government is ensuring that its digital transformation is around people.

He highlighted the improved business efficiencies that will almost certainly come from digitisation, but told the crowd that, for him, digital transformation is about more.

“It [digital transformation] is more than just the mere implementation of digital technologies. To me, the essence of digital transformation is about transforming human societies and improving the human condition.”

“It’s about achieving real-world outcomes and making decisions about how we distribute the pie more equitably and more efficiently.”

Digital driver licences

Another initiative aimed at improving the lives of NSW residents is the upcoming implementation of digital driver licenses.

During the CeBIT presentation, Dominello displayed his own personal digital license onscreen, revealing the inbuilt hologram and QR code that will legitimise the new product.

“Not only is this good for when you’re on the road and the police are hauling you up, but you can now use this for proof of age,” he said. “Everyone is using their phone these days to pay for transactions, now they can use it for their driver’s license.”

The government recently undertook a large-scale trial of digital licenses in the regional city of Dubbo.

With 1,400 residents participating in the trial, there was an 84% customer satisfaction score at the conclusion, Dominello quick to point out that this was “almost a high distinction.”

The digital licenses are expected to be available to the public via the Service NSW app by 2019.

Securing the transformation

While enabling NSW’s digital transformation is a firm priority for Dominello, he’s not losing sight of the importance of security.

“As much as I am a zealot when it comes to data and digital transformation, I can only move as fast as privacy settings allow,” he said.

“With privacy you create trust – and that is critical. In a free, liberal democracy like Australia where privacy is sacrosanct we must make sure that this carries forward into the digital era.”

He reflected on the appointment of Dr Maria Milosavljevic in 2016 as the NSW government Chief Information Security Officer, as well as the recently announced university-led cyber security network and explained that the state is on its way to lead the country when it comes to cyber security.

He also hinted at some “exciting news in the budget” for cyber security later this year.

Also opening proceedings at CeBIT were Lord Mayor of Sydney Clover Moore and ACS President Yohan Ramasundara.