The Digital Transformation Agency will deploy an automated digital records system from RecordPoint to streamline data management across its platforms.
Finance minister Simon Birmingham and Employment minister Stuart Robert announced the purchase of Records365 software for the peak IT agency on Friday.
The upgrade forms part of the broader digital records transformation initiative, which aims to shift the Australian Public Service away from paper-based records management.
Led by the Department of Finance, the project had initially planned for a government-wide records platform that all agencies would use to store information up to the protected level.
But Finance was forced to dump that vision for a more nuanced approach in late 2018 after failing to find a supplier capable of providing a single off-the-shelf solution.
A number of agencies, including the DTA and the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission, have since gone to market for individual solutions.
Birmingham welcomed the DTA’s purchase of records management software, particularly given how the pandemic has changed government interactions.
“By modernising the way in which government services data is managed and recorded, more efficient and timely services can be provided for Australians,” he said.
He added that the solution had been “designed specifically for records managers, creators and information users within government”.
Employment minister Stuart Robert, who oversees the DTA, said the software would give the agency better control of records.
“This local company has worked to modernise its solution by adopting machine learning, full text extraction and natural language processing to automate the process of records management, from creation to disposal,” he said.
“It can apply records control to content no matter where it is stored – in network drives, email and bespoke systems.
“This offers tremendous benefits to the way DTA keeps records, not only in terms of productivity but also to assist with greater transparency.”
RecordPoint chief operating officer said the landscape for records management solution had shifted markedly since the government’s initiative in 2017.
“We have seen accelerating demand for intuitive, user-focused solutions,” he said.
“This opportunity allows our Melbourne-based AI engineering team to innovate alongside DTA, a leader in the federal government sector, and puts us at the forefront of the global records and content management industry.”
