THE Commonwealth’s peak ICT standards-setting body, the Australian Government Information Management Office (AGIMO) has released the final two components in its long-awaited Smartcard framework.

Special Minister of State Gary Nairn, who oversees AGIMO and Federal eGovernment initiatives said the “Standards and Model Specifications” and “ Implementation Guide” for the Australian Government Smartcard Framework were now available for public comment.

The documents tackle the issue of how to ensure that government smartcard implementations are, where appropriate, interoperable and they provide guidance to agencies looking to take advantage of smartcard technology. 

“The Smartcard Framework is a key part of the e-Government Strategy and is part of our blueprint for connected government. I encourage all interested parties to review the documents and provide (AGIMO) with comments,” Mr Nairn said.

The documents and further information on the consultation process, including the due date for comments, are available through AGIMO.

Mr Nairn said The federal government was working closely with the States to ensure systems were interoperable between jurisdictions where it was appropriate, and to avoid future problems of incompatible systems.

Mr Nairn also “reaffirmed” the Federal Government’s commitment to its own e-Government strategy – Responsive Government: A New Service Agenda – which was announced a year ago.

The strategy outlined plans through to 2010 and beyond of the new ways in which Government will interact with citizens.

Speaking last week at the Australian Government Solicitor’s Forum on changes and developments in Commonwealth media and communications law, Mr Nairn said the advent of new technologies is driving the evolution of e‑Government and he called for a whole of government approach to tackling new challenges to service delivery.

“These challenges must be dealt with through cooperation and sharing, based on the e‑Government Strategy that aims to realise the potential of e‑Government,” Mr Nairn said.

While AGIMO has had limited success in guiding standards among federal departments, it is difficult to discern real progress toward the Responsive Government ideals, with a series of large projects underway in Immigration, Tax, Centrelink and Human Services that are taking an autonomous road to meet their own needs.