Juliana ADDISON (Wendouree) (16:16): I am delighted to rise, following on from the member for Sandringham, to talk about the Service Victoria Amendment Bill 2023. I am standing up to support this amendment, which will further improve the delivery of digital government services across the state and which is something that I know we are all incredibly interested in as we move forward. It was great to hear the contribution from the member for Pascoe Vale, who is always a very engaged member. This is important legislation, and I am very pleased to speak to it.

I would really like to thank the Minister for Government Services, her ministerial office and the department for bringing this bill to the house. I would also like to acknowledge the input of the department agencies and non-governmental stakeholders that were consulted, which includes the Victorian information and health complaints commissioner, the privacy foundation, the Law Institute of Victoria and all of Service Victoria’s partner agencies.

I fundamentally believe that it is paramount that citizens are able to engage and access government services in my community and across the state. I think many of us know and would say that navigating government services can be challenging on a good day and near impossible when your life is in crisis or when you are unwell or when you are a vulnerable Victorian.

Service Victoria provides a convenient, easily accessible and central point of access for Victorians to a variety of government services. Not only is it customer friendly, it is digitally supported by modern IT infrastructure, which has facilitated the completion of almost 15 million activities during the most recent financial year – 15 million. Amazing, if you think of the population of Victoria and these interactions – so important. This number does not surprise me given that the platform supplies end-to-end access to over a hundred customer services from right across government.

I am very proud to have so many Service Victoria staff working in my electorate of Wendouree in our purpose-built $100 million Ballarat GovHub building, as well as VicRoads, Consumer Affairs Victoria, Working with Children Check Victoria, the State Revenue Office, Regional Development Victoria and other departments, including the Department of Education. Our GovHub has centralised the delivery of a range of government services, making it a one-stop shop for customers and a hub for local activities. We have delivered on our Ballarat jobs promise with workers in the hundreds, with hundreds of new jobs and with relocated positions now based in central Ballarat.

It is terrific to talk with government employees who have chosen to relocate to Ballarat about how much they enjoy living in our city, with everything that Ballarat has to offer not only for them but also for their families. These new jobs, as well as the construction, have strengthened our local economy. The construction of our GovHub, headed by contractor Kane and local builders Nicholson in a joint venture, was a major boost for the local and regional economy that created 500 jobs and supported more than 60 companies not only from Ballarat but from across the region as well in Bendigo and Geelong.

I am very disappointed that the Shadow Treasurer is walking out, because I am going to make references to him, and I want him to stay. If your time is not too valuable, just hang on a minute.

I have had the opportunity to meet with Service Victoria staff onsite and see the work that they are doing, and I am particularly pleased that Ballarat was chosen as a site to trial the digital Victoria driver licence, which I conveniently have on my phone in my Service Victoria app wallet. Since July Ballarat residents have been able to register their interest to participate in the pilot through their myVicRoads account or from the Service Victoria website and add a digital version of their licence to their phone. I know the member for Sandringham would love to move to Ballarat just so he could do that. But I am sorry, it is really important you stay by his side, and I will keep the home fires burning in Wendouree.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Through the Chair.

Juliana ADDISON: There are a number of benefits to the new digital licence – I am sure the house will appreciate this – including that it is more secure than a physical licence and can be updated to reflect changes, including a new address or new licence conditions. I am sure that many digital natives, as well as the member for Sandringham’s mother, will in time be sure to use this for ID or proof of age rather than carrying a physical card like a proof-of-age card, but I do not want to get ahead of myself. I have got to be very cautious on that front.

With Service Victoria there are other digital solutions. I know there is a healthy rivalry between New South Wales and Victoria, but I think if the member for Sandringham was more interested in promoting all the good things happening in Victoria rather than that mob north of the Murray, he would be very excited to know the things we are now able to do: get a recreational fishing licence or a Victorian miners right – going all the way back to the goldfields and Eureka – now in 2024 with Service Victoria. There is also the digital Seniors Card – I do not want to jump to conclusions, but perhaps Mrs Rowswell might be interested in also having that – and a digital veterans card,

Service Victoria is also providing great services. Many have been able to apply for the Get Active Kids vouchers. That is really, really good. As we know, these important Get Active Kids vouchers help kids and families to afford club memberships, fees, uniforms and equipment. In partnership with local governments, Service Victoria also provides automatic approvals for permits such as footpath trading or outdoor fitness, streamlining processes for business to the benefit of communities, with participating councils I note. Just a word to the City of Ballarat: you are not on that list yet, so we have a little bit of work to do there, but I know that many other councils are involved in this.

We have all been talking a lot this week and for the last couple of months about cost-of-living pressures. That is why it is so important that there is also the savings finder available through Service Victoria, which shows Victorians a huge range of rebates and discounts that are relevant to them. More than ever in this cost-of-living crisis we are all looking to make savings, and I encourage every single person to take full advantage of checking the savings finder online with Service Victoria.

One further program I really want to highlight that I am so proud of is the sick pay guarantee, which is accessible through Service Victoria. It is our nation-leading policy that is a game changer for casual and vulnerable workers. This is where casual and contract workers can check their eligibility and sign up for the guarantee as well as where they can then make a claim if they need to. No worker should have to choose between not heading into work when sick and earning a living, which is why our government’s sick pay guarantee pilot program is so crucial, and the key to making it accessible is Service Victoria.

It is not enough for programs such as this just to exist. To be of any benefit they must be easy to find and straightforward to navigate, and that is exactly what Service Victoria provides. As I have already said, it is paramount that citizens have easy access to services. This is not only for my constituents living in Wendouree – every single Victorian needs to have ease of access. All of these programs are available thanks to the Service Victoria Act 2018, which originally outlined the core priorities for the agency. The act has since been updated, most recently in 2022, with targeted amendments that addressed specific needs arising from the COVID-19 pandemic.

With this bill that is before the house, the proposed amendments intend to better clarify the purpose of Service Victoria as an agency and to create the legislative framework to further enhance service provision. These amendments were also informed by the independent review into the act which followed its three-year anniversary. I would like to acknowledge Dr Claire Noone for her work in leading this review and the dozens of stakeholders consulted for their input.

In light of this review’s recommendations, the bill before us proposes several amendments to the Service Victoria Act 2018 with the intention of supporting and enhancing the provision of government services via Service Victoria so we will be able to enable the delivery of more end-to-end and innovative digital services; provide better and more flexible identification verification, as raised by the member for Sandringham; enable services delivery partnerships to create streamlined and secure customer experiences; as well as further harmonising information management practices under the act with those across government.

In my final remarks I just want to say that this bill improves provisions regarding electronic identity credentials in addition to laying the framework for the agency to provide identity verification to non-government entities. I commend this bill to the house. I commend the workers at Ballarat in the GovHub.

You can take a look at more of my speeches to Parliament here.