The Australian government wants to throw $200.1 million at developing an “an enhanced myGov,” which could either be amazing and long-overdue news, or an outrageous waste of money on more of the same.
This little tidbit was tossed into the 2021-22 Budget among other, more serious measures like the $2.3 billion mental healthcare package and the $1.1 billion put towards women’s safety.
Sure, a massive cash injection might just be what it takes to fix such a janky (and intimidating) online portal, but the fact that it’s so awful in the first place doesn’t make us particularly hopeful.
Here’s how a press release from Government Services Minister Linda Reynolds described the changes: “This investment will make myGov even more responsive to the need for delivering seamless and tailored services and payments as government policy demands, as part of our plan to secure Australia’s recovery.”
It kind of sounds like more of the same, hey.
The government hasn’t yet explained just how drastically different this “enhanced myGov” will be. Things get confusing when different Budget documents use the words “enhanced” and “new” interchangeably, and sometimes in tandem.
However, the fact that so much of the language surrounding this myGov revamp praises the existing service says it all.
Nobody who’s ever used (or even heard of) myGov would consider it something worth building upon. The website’s a mess, and the emails are truly terrifying.
A press release from Employment Minister Stuart Robert (who, you know, doesn’t have the greatest track record with this stuff) said this new, enhanced myGov platform will “will change the way Australians can find and access government information and services online, anywhere, anytime, using the device of their choice.”
If this change involves making the default email something other than “YOU HAVE A NEW MESSAGE IN YOUR MYGOV INBOX,” then maybe, just maybe, that $200.1 million will have been worth it.
