For real estate agents, it is important to view the broader move to digitisation within the industry-specific movements. There is an intergovernmental agreement in place mandating a migration of property transfers from paperless to digital by 2019, and the topic of electronic signatures is gaining traction as we look towards a digital future.
While the government is unlikely to face the same threat of disruption from the digital age as the private sector, the digitisation of government allows the public service to enjoy the same efficiencies and economies that are available to business.
According to Queensland Innovation Minister Leeanne Enoch, the overarching strategy is to move government and citizens towards a mindset of ‘digital first’, which is in line with some of the many digital-by-default policies being implemented around the world.
The Queensland Government Strategy is deliberately agile and, rather than focus on deadlines and rollouts, it involves eight principles to guide decision making, including:
- Solve the right problem
- Digital by default
- Create unified digital content
- Prefer open over closed
- Make it secure by design
- Harness skills and experience – from inside and out
- Leave no one behind
- Experiment, learn and improve.
A McKinsey & Company White Paper published in 2017 has estimated a worldwide saving of $1 trillion annually if governments collectively made the change.
