The federal government will commit more than $500 million to overhaul two of its key online portals, myGov and My Health Record, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced on Thursday.
The commitment is part of a $1.2 billion digital economy strategy, which aims to make Australia a modern and leading digital economy by 2030.
The funding, announced ahead of Tuesday’s budget, will improve the platforms and expand the digital identity system. My Health Record will receive the larger portion of funding, $301.8 million, while myGov will get $200.1 million.
Other funding commitments announced on Thursday include:
- More than $100 million to support digital skills, including through a pilot program for digital cadetships, and scholarships for emerging technology graduates.
- $124.1 million to build Australia’s capability in Artificial Intelligence , with a National Artificial Intelligence Centre to be led by CSIRO’s Data 61.
- $12.7 million to expand the Digital Solutions — Australian Small Business Advisory Service, and $15.3 million to drive business uptake of e-Invoicing, to help small and medium businesses build their digital capacity.
- $35.7 million to support emerging aviation technologies like drones.
- $111.3 million to speed up the rollout of the Consumer Data Right in banking, energy and telecommunications.
- More than $50 million to enhance cyber security in government, data centres and future telecommunications networks.
- Investment incentives to support business growth, including a Digital Games Tax Offset of 30%, and changes to the way Australian businesses can claim depreciation of intangible assets like intellectual property and in-house software.
The digital economy strategy will be released on budget night.
Read more: Australian Digital Health Agency to refresh national digital health infrastructure
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