National Technology Policies

Australia: National ICT Policies

Overview:

The Australian government has developed many policies to promote the advancement of ICT across businesses, government, and households. These polices are under constant review by numerous Commonwealth departments and agencies and seek to ensure that Australia further pursue ICT initiatives. Current national policy seems to be focused on three main objectives:

1) To further promote business utilization of ICT especially within the small to medium enterprise market.

2) To expand Australia’s national broadband capabilities.

3) To further Australia’s international ICT presence with a foundation built upon research and development.

History:

The process of creating a national policy framework for the information economy was begun in 1996 when the Commonwealth Government established the Online Council. The Council operates as the peak ministerial forum across Commonwealth, State, Territory and local governments for consultation and coordination on the information economy. Its task is to address information economy issues that cross constitutional boundaries or require an integrated approach between levels of government.

This was followed in 1997 by the establishment of the National Office for the Information Economy (NOIE) in anticipation of the whole-of-government nature of the policy challenge. As an Executive Agency, NOIE has direct responsibility for the development and coordination of advice to the Government on information economy issues, including [18]:

the impact of information technology and communications issues on the information economy—including issues relating to technology and industry convergence;
the regulatory and physical infrastructure needed for online services—including e-commerce;
the application of new technology to Government administration, information and service provision;
assistance to business and Government agencies to deliver services online; and
consistency of the Government’s position relating to information economy issues in relevant international forums.

Investing for Growth:

The foundation of the Commonwealth Government’s strategy for the information economy was laid in the Investing for Growth speech, by Prime Minister, John Howard, in December 1997:

“The information age represents an opportunity to improve all Australians’ living standards and offers us enormous possibilities for the way we live, work, learn and interact. The challenge is to maximize the potential benefits for all Australians, and to enhance our competitiveness as part of the global information economy (John Howard, December 1997).”

The approach to the information economy set out in Investing for Growth was based on earlier reports to the Government by the Information Policy Advisory Council (IPAC) and the Information Industries Task Force (IITF) that had investigated the policy implications of the emerging information economy. The statement contained a range of initiatives and policies falling into four main areas [18]:

1) Providing strong leadership, including the immediate appointment of a Minister for Communications, the Information Economy and the Arts and a commitment to develop a national strategy for the information economy;
2) Encouraging business and consumer confidence by creating a light-handed regulatory framework to support and encourage private sector-led development of the information economy;
3) Getting Australia online by encouraging Australia’s governments, business, communities to use online and Internet technologies, including a commitment to place all appropriate Commonwealth Government services online by the end of 2001; and
4) Fostering the development of the information industries to capitalize on the employment, growth and export opportunities offered by the sector.

Investing for Growth explicitly linked the Commonwealth’s strategy for the information economy with national macroeconomic and social objectives. It positioned the information economy as an element of its overall framework for investment, innovation, growth and employment, along with key areas such as fiscal management, industrial relations policy, competition policy, education and training policy, and financial sector reform.

The link between the information economy and Australia’s future growth, employment and social prospects was a strong theme of the Investing for Growth statement. It identified the Internet as a key engine of change, and the platform for new productivity-enhancing technologies like electronic commerce.

During 1998 a public consultation process on policy priorities for Australia’s information economy was undertaken, involving the community, industry and all three tiers of government. The process was a whole-of-government collaboration, coordinated by NOIE and designed to bring together the full range of government actors and create a strategic framework for all Commonwealth action to develop the information economy. The result was the Commonwealth Government’s vision for Australia in the information age, A Strategic Framework for the Information Economy—Identifying Priorities for Action. The Minister for Communications, Information Economy and the Arts launched the Framework in January 1999 [2].

The Framework described the global and national context of Australia’s information economy, including the impact of the Internet and its potential to help address the ‘tyranny of distance’ that had always hampered Australia’s economic and social development. The Framework also set out several principles to guide government action, based on international experience, a concern for social cohesion, the embryonic state of information economy markets, and the Commonwealth’s commitment to an open society and globally competitive economy driven by the private sector and the community. These principles were that:

all Australians should be able to participate and benefit from the information economy;
Government’s role is to create the environment, and that the private sector would take the lead in investment and market development; and
national approaches were favored, in order to best promote Australia’s interests internationally.

The Framework then set out the Commonwealth Government’s mission:

“To ensure that the lives, work and well being of Australians are enriched, jobs are created, and the national wealth is enhanced, through the participation of all Australians in the growing information economy [2].”

The vision for Australia’s information economy set out in the Framework reflected these global and national characteristics, as well as outlining strategies for Australia to develop information economy strengths. It envisaged a future Australia where: The Strategic Framework for the Information Economy set out ten priorities for action that were aimed at achieving this vision. These priorities were consistent with the three key action areas set out Investing for Growth, namely promoting confidence, getting Australia online, and developing the ICT industries. They also reflected the consensus of the consultation process about the key impediments to information economy development, and judgments about the industry sectors where the most significant social and economic gains were possible [2].

The ten priorities were [6]:

       1) Maximize the opportunities for all Australians to benefit from the information economy.
        2) Deliver the education and skills Australians need to participate in the information economy.
        3) Advance the growth of a world class infrastructure for the information economy.
        4) Increase significantly the use of electronic commerce by Australian business.
        5) Develop a legal and regulatory framework to facilitate electronic commerce.
        6) Promote the integrity and growth of Australian content and culture in the information economy.
        7) Develop the Australian information industries.
        8) Unlock the potential of the health sector.
        9) Influence the emerging international rules and conventions for electronic commerce.
        10) Implement a world class model for delivery of all appropriate government services online.

Action Plans were developed for each of these priorities with responsibility for implementation falling to appropriate government agencies, including NOIE.