Case studies

Public transport users in NSW will soon benefit from the Opal Next Gen upgrade, enhancing the Opal ticketing system with new technologies for improved journey planning, payment and information access. This upgrade will align with emerging technologies and customer needs. The $567.9 million Opal Next Generation program will provide customers with greater choice when travelling on the Opal network by introducing Opal cards for digital wallets and allowing more customers to pay using smartphones, wearable devices or bank cards. The improved system will enhance customer experience by making it easier to manage travel, streamline account top up, provide real time information through improved mobile app and website

Embracing digital innovation: Sydney Trains VR training for frontline excellence

Sydney Trains has introduced a virtual reality (VR) training program for 3000 train drivers and guards to enhance their emergency response skills. This cutting-edge initiative marks a significant shift from traditional video learning, utilising VR to simulate real-life scenarios.

This empowers train drivers and guards to handle onboard emergencies with greater confidence and efficiency.

Highlighting the importance of cultural competence and celebrating diversity

The Multicultural Plan was developed based on community and staff feedback and aims to tailor services for multicultural communities, enhance staff workplace experiences and opportunities, and promote social and economic participation. It highlights the importance of cultural competence and celebrates diversity within the NSW Department of Customer Service’s workforce.

Building skills for the future: The NSW public sector’s commitment to apprenticeships and traineeships

The 1000 NSW Public Sector Apprentices and Trainees Program is a strategic initiative to bridge the skills gap. The NSW Government pledges to invest $93.7 million to employ an additional 1000 apprentices and trainees across government agencies and State-Owned Corporations by 2026. This initiative aims to address the skills shortage and enhance employment opportunities for youth and those re-entering the workforce. This will ensure there will be a strong pipeline of skilled people to support industries like transport, electricity, water, IT and cyber security.

An industry-informed plan to deliver a resilient pipeline of digitally skilled and capable people

The NSW Digital Skills and Workforce Compact is a 7-year, cross-sector collaboration between the NSW Government, the digital industry, and the education and training sector. It aims to address the projected 2030 digital workforce shortfall of 85,000 by implementing innovative and industry-informed strategies. The compact includes actions such as changing perceptions of digital careers, improving retention in digital tertiary education and driving diversity in the digital workforce. Actions also include expanding digital traineeships, scaling digital reskilling programs, and making training more responsive to industry needs. By working together, the partners seek to ensure that people across NSW can access opportunities to develop digital skills, pursue fulfilling careers, and increase community participation in the digital economy.

Future proofing DPIRD’s emergency response capability

The project was funded through the DRF and enabled the development of a customer facing digital solution able to share and receive digital emergency information with rural and regional communities.

The BioResponse NSW App helps everyone understand, prevent and manage NSW biosecurity threats.

This policy sets clear standards and guidelines for agencies to manage evolving cyber risks effectively.  The NSW Cyber Security Policy incorporates recommendations from the Audit Office of NSW and an independent review commissioned by Cyber Security NSW, following extensive consultation with government agencies to ensure its effectiveness and relevance.

The NSW Cyber Security Policy mandates that all government agencies manage cyber security risks and report annually to Cyber Security NSW by 31 October, either through their portfolio CISO or directly.

In September, the inaugural Cyber Security NSW Summit provided professional development for NSW Government's cyber workforce. Topics included AI, executive communication, incident management, awareness training, and case studies, reflecting cyber threats as a business-wide risk. Minister Jihad Dib announced sponsorship for staff to complete TAFE NSW’s ACSC Essential Eight Assessment Course.

Innovative technology protecting communities

New artificial intelligence (AI) technology is being developed as part of the Flood and Storm Intelligence Sensing project, which is part of the NSW Government’s efforts to protect communities during severe weather events. The project is funded through Transport for NSW’s Smart Places Acceleration Program, which has been funded by the Digital Restart Fund.

The NSW State Emergency Service (SES) has partnered with researchers from the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) and TPG Telecom to develop and test network sensing technology, which extracts localised weather information including rainfall, water levels and river flows using signals transmitted on the communications network.

The Network Sensing Lab will develop and trial solutions that can be readily deployed in commercial networks. These build on cutting-edge algorithms and techniques developed by UTS researchers to monitor and predict flooding by leveraging existing wireless networks.

An annual event to raise awareness of privacy issues

Privacy Awareness Week (PAW) is a campaign that highlights the importance of privacy issues and raises awareness for public sector agencies on how to protect the personal information of our citizens. Each year, the Information and Privacy Commission hosts a NSW campaign for NSW citizens and public sector agencies to raise awareness of privacy rights and obligations.

PAW encourages agencies to build strong privacy foundations and supports citizens to better understand and exercise their privacy rights.

An app for emergency warnings and advice for floods, tsunamis and fires in NSW

The Hazards Near Me app shows current information about local emergencies, including flood, bushfires and tsunamis, and advice on what to do to stay safe. The app can send push notifications when there are new incidents or when information changes. The NSW Flood Inquiry identified the need for a consolidated approach and single app for hazard warnings.

Online safety awareness program to nurture safe and respectful digital citizens

Introduced the Cybermarvel program, a joint initiative of the NSW, VIC, TAS, ACT, SA and NT education departments, which aims to build staff and students’ cyber safety awareness and skills, inform parents and carers how to keep their family safe online, and encourage safe and positive online behaviours and experiences.

The Single Digital Patient Record (SDPR) is a transformational health program that will provide an integrated view of a patient’s care within the NSW Health system. It will give clinicians easy and timely access to a holistic record of an individual’s medical information, providing real-time access to medical records and empowering clinical teams to make informed decisions promptly, streamlining processes and reducing administrative burdens on our staff.

An all-of-government digital application to calculate GHG emissions and model net zero pathways to 2050

The carbonZero Accelerator aims to develop an open source, cloud-based, scalable platform for government agencies. For the NSW Government to lead by example in transitioning its agencies and their geographically distributed assets and places to a Net Zero economy, an enabling data platform with suitable and accessible data and information is required to support target setting to achieve net zero, inform intervention opportunities to achieve net zero target, unlock funding and finance mechanism and monitor and report progress in a transparent way.

It is envisaged that carbon Zero Accelerator platform will be used by government agencies and councils to develop a carbon emissions footprint and transparently communicate their strategies to reduce carbon emissions informed by actual data and best-practice approaches to reach net zero target.

The platform can be scaled up for use by all layers of government, state-owned corporations and businesses to measure their carbon footprint, analyse emissions trajectory as a result of the entity’s business operation, model pathways to net zero and develop investment level action plan to implement emission reduction.
 

Provision of data and insights for public use

This data is integrated in apps used by millions of passengers each day and informs state strategies and plans. Data is also available through visualisations published on the Transport website recognising the need for simplified and accessible insights beyond the developer community