Australia earns top 5 spot in digital transformation

The Digital Transformation Agency announced in December that Australia has been ranked by the World Bank in the top five globally for embracing technology in government.

The World Bank has measured 48 indicators across 198 economies and Australia has been identified as a global leader in how it embraces government technologies.

The World Bank Group has been measuring the use of government technology (GovTech) across economies since 2021. The 2025 GovTech Maturity Index Update places Australia in the top five performing countries with a score of 98.5%, landing us in Group A of world economies, up from 81.1% in 2022.

“The 2025 results represent a remarkable leap in Australia’s digital capabilities,” said Chris Fechner, Chief Executive Officer of the DTA. “Through strategic investment in digital-first infrastructure and citizen-centric services, we have increased our maturity by over 10 percentage points in just three years.”

Being categorised in Group A (Very High GovTech Maturity) reflects the tangible ease of how Australians interact with their government.

“A score of 98.5% indicates that Australia’s digital ecosystem is comprehensive. It features strong data sharing between agencies and highly secure, personalised digital identities to streamline access for our communities.”

The Index breaks down 48 indicators across four major categories.

1. Core government systems

The Core Government Systems Index looks to understand how a nation uses technologies to support government operations and services. This includes the establishment of interoperability frameworks and use of shared platforms as a means of reducing operational costs and improving efficiency.

From 2022, the World Bank found between 16% and 20% of economies have established government clouds, enterprise architectures, or interoperability platforms. This indicates a deep interest in utilising data and digital solutions.

Australia improved its standing from 83.6% in 2022 to 98.9% in 2025.

Australia’s Secure Cloud Strategy guides agencies through addressing capability shortcomings, confusion around security requirements, and conflicting organisation-specific information and communications technology policies. This was recently strengthened through the Whole-of-Government Cloud Computing Policy (taking effect on 1 July 2026).

2. Public service delivery

The Public Service Index breaks down the type of services that are available online — tax filing, administrative, e-payments, jobs portals — and how accessible they are.

Of great interest to the World Bank was the improvement of online public services, social insurance or pensions being delivered digitally, along with job portals. 10% to 12% more countries have adopted these platforms since 2022.

“With a jump from 74% to 99%, the Australian Government continues its commitment to simplify entry points for its service,” Fechner highlighted. “Over the past decade, Australian digital government services have expanded rapidly, providing new ways for people and business to access assistance.”

Australia’s Digital Experience Policy ensures that government services are designed and delivered in a way that is user-friendly, inclusive and efficient.

3. Digital citizen engagement

Platforms only serve their purpose when citizens engage by both using the platform and providing feedback. Under this citizen engagement category, the World Bank examines the efficacy of public participation platforms. This includes processing of citizen feedback and complaint handling mechanisms, as well as open data and open government portals.

In 2022, Australia scored 81.5%; in 2025, it improved to 96%. The DTA says this is in part due to the delivery of the Digital Service Standard, which encourages agencies to implement feedback mechanisms that are easy and accessible for users to encourage engagement. The higher the response rate, the closer the data will be to the true sentiment of users.

Around the world, GovTech continues to face persistent challenges in offering this type of citizen collaboration. Open data portals remain limited, hampering transparency and accountability, with some 9% of participants even discontinuing their feedback mechanisms.

4. GovTech enablers

The World Bank’s Enablers Index measures the state of several crosscutting drivers of digital transformation. It scores whether countries foster an environment that encourages innovation in the public sector and provides incentive for GovTech startups.

The DTA helps a suite of policies, standards and guidance to enhance digital adoption, including GovTech:

• The Data and Digital Government Strategy combines whole-of-government commitments for both the data and digital capabilities of the Australian Public Service (APS).
• The Strategy’s supporting Implementation Plan describes what the government is doing to deliver outcomes, boost productivity, and protect all people and business as more services are delivered online.
• Digital.gov.au is an agency-agnostic gateway unifying all things digital currently distributed across various Australian Government agencies and portfolios.
• DTA’s engagement approach outlines how we coordinate work with local and international partners through submissions, delegations and consultations.
• Material like DTA’s Policy for the responsible use of AI in government provides guardrails for the effective adoption of artificial intelligence, including training for APS staff.

Improvement never stops

“Australia has completed several more initiatives since submitting our work to the World Bank,” Fechner said. “From the AI Plan for the APS, along with the National AI Plan, through to implementing our new Cloud Policy from July 2026 and enhancing our BuyICT platform.

“Each of these projects continue to build on the strength of Australia’s GovTech capability and progresses our delivery of the Data and Digital Government Strategy’s vision: that the Australian Government deliver simple, secure and connected public services — for all people and business — through world-class data and digital capabilities.”

Image credit: iStock.com/Pongsak Sapakdee