Delivering Australian Government Services: Access and Distribution Strategy
Australian Government Interoperability Framework
The definition of ‘interoperability’ is: ‘the ability to transfer and use information in a uniform and efficient manner across multiple organisations and information technology systems’. The practical realities of bringing together and, if required, merging and aligning business processes, information and technology to achieve service delivery outcomes, requires new or improved capabilities. Such practical considerations are generally known as ‘interoperability’. Interoperability is a key enabler for the delivery of seamless government services.
Interoperability is concerned with the ‘dialogue’ between agencies. Interoperability makes it possible to design and build the foundations of collaborative government. There is an immense untapped potential for the reuse of existing information sources. Interoperability expands our access to these resources, providing the potential benefit of cost savings from reusing existing data.
Interoperability offers standardised protocols for collaborating across government. It makes it easier to work with others by promoting a uniform approach to cross-agency initiatives. In addition, interoperability promotes the reuse of existing information holdings and infrastructure.
Government policy imperatives, customer requirements and agency readiness will all determine the extent of interoperability that should and can be achieved on any specific initiative. The core thrust of interoperability is building an increasingly mature capability, so that collaboration between agencies becomes easier and cheaper over time.
The Australian Government Interoperability Framework endeavours to progressively build mature capability along three focus areas: business process, information and technical interoperability.
Business Process Interoperability Framework
The Business Process Interoperability Framework provides agencies with a methodology to map the business processes that drive service delivery, with a view to identifying areas of commonality and opportunities for integration or collaboration with other agencies. This enables agencies to embark on new ways of delivering services, and for the business planning processes of agencies to be increasingly standardised.
Information Interoperability Framework
The Information Interoperability Framework provides a set of guiding principles for information management which enable agencies to understand and analyse the issues involved in information interoperability. It identifies the activities involved in improving information interoperability and approaches for tackling aspects of information management across multiple agencies, including common methodologies, definitions and structures for information, along with shared services for information retrieval and management.
Technical Interoperability Framework
The Technical Interoperability Framework provides the first step in establishing interoperability at the technical level, for the exchange of data and harmonisation of business transactions within a trusted environment. The framework covers common methods and shared services for the communication, storage, processing and presentation of data.
Together, the three interoperability areas encompass:
- harmonisation of common service delivery business processes
- the development of a framework to improve the ability to access, share and reuse information
- the development of technical standards to ensure that information and data can be shared
Contact for information on this page: nsip@finance.gov.au