The federal government has flagged significant changes to its myGov platform, recognising the service is now "critical national infrastructure" like roads, hospitals or the power grid.
A review of the service found the number of myGov accounts has doubled in five years, and 1.4 million Australians use the service every day.
But while the platform is heavily used, satisfaction with myGov remains low — with less than half of users satisfied overall with how it is working.
The review has recommended a significant and ongoing increase in funding for the platform, and new legislation to reflect its importance as a link between the government and ordinary Australians.
It also argued while the priority should be delivering better services, high-quality digital services will also deliver savings for the government.
New features for the mobile app were also suggested — including working with state governments to incorporate identity documents, like drivers licences.
Government Services Minister Bill Shorten said as myGov increasingly becomes part of the everyday lives of Australians, it is vital that it is as workable and user-friendly as possible.
"The myGov software, and the app, and the program, really needs to keep up with the expectations of Australians," he said.
"The myGov app has the potential, this report says, to be a long term part of how Australians deal with government."
Usage booming but users unhappy
The audit of myGov was promised before last year's election, particularly promising to address crashes and outages of the service.
The number of people using myGov has soared in recent years, partly due to the COVID-19 pandemic driving demand for a range of government services.
Government figures show that more than 25 million people have a myGov account, and daily usage tripled over the past five years.
But a survey conducted as part of the review found significant public concerns with the platform, with 75 per cent indicating the government needed to improve its online services.
The review acknowledged the myGov has improved significantly, pointing particularly to the rollout of a new app late last year.
The report's lead author, former Telstra chief executive David Thodey, said the sheer volume of people now relying on myGov meant the government cannot afford a substandard service.
"MyGov, or delivering government services digitally, has no longer become optional," he said.
"It's become a critical part of how we deliver services for a modern, dynamic government going forward."
So what's likely to change?
The government has just received the report, and will formally respond to the various recommendations in the months ahead.
But the report provides a number of possible options as to how it might be improved.
It points to the NSW government's online offerings, particularly the Service NSW digital platforms, as best-practice within Australia.
And it suggests the federal government should be working with the states to try and bring more services together, so people can access what they need from both levels of government in the one place.
Helping people manage their response to disasters, registering births and deaths, and providing access to documents like drivers licences, seniors cards, occupational licences and Medicare cards have all been listed as priorities.
Mr Shorten said putting a timeline on achieving those sorts of things wa not easy, but he would like to see it done.
"It's a matter for negotiating with our comrades-in-arms at the state governments, and getting various federal departments on board," he said.
"This [report] is the blueprint, and what we want to do — what I would like to do — over the next 12 months is articulate a calendar where we can start dropping cards in.
"We're hoping to put the Medicare card on the app in March."
It also suggests there is more the federal government could be doing with its own service, like using it to enrol to vote, renew passports or complete the census.
Change will cost money
One of the most significant recommendations from the report is a substantial and ongoing increase to funding for the myGov service.
The former government increased funding for myGov by $100m a year for two years, but that arrangement expires this year.
The report suggests making that funding increase permanent, giving myGov a budget of roughly $138 million every year going forward.
Mr Shorten acknowledged that decision would have to be made as part of the May budget, but said it would be hard to see the service continuing without the additional money.
"The fact of the matter is the funding just falls of a cliff," he said.
"There are still going to be computers and apps here on July 1, 2023.
"So of course we have to deal with it, but we have to wait for the budget to deal with it."
