The Public Sector Podcast: Accelerating Digital Service Innovation through Whole of Government Digital Platforms

Episode Overview

In this episode, we sit down with Alberto Delgi Esposti, Chief Technology Officer, Office of Digital Government, Department of Premier and Cabinet WA who shares how whole-of-government digital platforms are transforming the way services are delivered across the state. Framing these platforms as “state digital assets,” the discussion explores how shared infrastructure—like identity, service hubs and unified web experiences—can be treated with the same strategic importance as physical assets such as roads and hospitals.

Rather than building systems agency by agency, Western Australia is enabling departments to share platforms that streamline access, reduce duplication, lower costs and improve the citizen experience. The result is faster delivery, stronger security, and consistently high satisfaction ratings across major public services.

Key Themes

The conversation highlights how shared digital assets—such as the WA Identity Gateway, the ServiceWA app, and WA.gov.au—create a connected, secure and scalable service ecosystem. By centralising identity, simplifying access and enabling cross-agency collaboration, government can accelerate delivery while strengthening trust and cyber resilience.

The episode also reinforces the mindset shift required: agencies must see digital platforms not as standalone projects, but as long-term, reusable assets that benefit the entire state.

What You’ll Learn

1) Treating Digital Platforms as State Assets

Why digital infrastructure should be viewed as shared public assets—just like hospitals and roads—and how this perspective drives collaboration and efficiency across agencies.

2) The WA Identity Gateway in Action

How a unified digital identity allows citizens to securely access multiple government services without managing multiple logins—while ensuring appropriate identity assurance levels for different transactions.

3) Firearms Licensing Modernisation

How WA Police integrated with the Identity Gateway to streamline identity verification, eliminate costly manual processes, reduce cyber risk exposure, and process over 50,000 authentications seamlessly.

4) Reinventing Learn & Log

How the Department of Transport rebuilt its learner driver logging system within the ServiceWA app—fully integrating with backend systems, reducing friction, gamifying learning, and improving road safety outcomes.

5) Delivering Election Commitments at Speed

How the Western Australian Student Assistance Payment was deployed within six weeks, processing over 400,000 payments with a 75% digital uptake and significantly lower per-transaction costs.

6) Accelerating Environmental Rebates

How digital integration enabled rapid processing of the Urban Greening Grant, cutting processing costs dramatically and delivering payments within five business days.

7) Driving Down Costs While Raising Satisfaction

Why digital channels cost a fraction of manual processes—and how these initiatives consistently achieved satisfaction ratings above 99%.

Key Takeaways

• Shared digital platforms reduce duplication and accelerate delivery across agencies

• Centralised digital identity strengthens security while simplifying citizen access

• Whole-of-government collaboration lowers costs and improves service consistency

• Treating digital as a long-term asset unlocks scalable, repeatable success

• Citizen-first design can deliver both efficiency and exceptional satisfaction

Why You Should Listen

This episode is essential for digital leaders, CIOs, transformation teams and policy professionals exploring how to scale innovation across government. It offers practical examples of how shared platforms can deliver measurable impact—faster services, lower costs, reduced risk, and stronger public trust—when agencies work together around common digital infrastructure.

Memorable Line of Thinking

Digital platforms are not projects—they are state assets. When government builds once and shares broadly, everyone benefits.