Australia cuts funding for digital ID agency despite prioritizing digitization
Australia has cut funding for the Digital Transformation Agency from $425.5 million to $336 million in the next financial year. The close to $90 million budget cut will see the agency, which is charged with Australia’s national digital ID programme, reduce staff numbers from 255 to 227. However, the government has affirmed its commitment to digital transformation, citing projects that will be funded in the coming year. These include redevelopment of the myGov platform to provide a more personalised services tailored to individual citizens; funding for My Health Record and for funding for the Australian Digital Health Agency; and standardised back-end technology platform across government.