The NSW government has deployed a new digital platform underpinned by Calytera’s Amanda solution to serve the future licensing needs of departments and agencies across the state.
The Department of Customer Service rolled out a bare-bones version of the platform in December after striking a five-year contract with the Australian arm of IT consulting company CGI.
The contract was awarded using funding from the state’s $2.1 billion digital restart fund, through which the government has set aside $122 million over three years to “further modernise its licensing and compliance program”.
Just over $20 million of this investment is being spent delivering “eight final digital licence scheme products relating to asbestos, demolition, conveyancing and paintball by June [2021]”.
CGI said the new platform will support “a digital first approach” to managing licences, registrations, permits and certificates across government using Calytera’s (formerly CSDC’s) Amanda solution.
Amanda – which is the US-based software company’s core product offering for government – is already used by agencies across the US, Canada and UK for licensing and permissions.
“[Amanda] is used internationally for broad licensing functions and NSW is leading the way by developing this digital licensing technology in Australia,” CGI said in a statement on Tuesday.
The platform is expected to eventually replace state’s “previously disparate licensing systems” as part of the broader government licensing system (GLS) overhaul, though CGI would not elaborate further when approached by iTnews.
The department has described the licensing platform, dubbed Licence.NSW, as a “next generation licensing service” that will give government a “360-degree view of customer where legislation allows”.
It will also support the “digital issuance of licences” through the Service NSW app – the lastest of which is a photo card – and is “tightly integrated with the Service NSW MyService platform”.
“This new vision for licensing incorporates identity verification, automated approval processes and an integrated payment engine to provide error-free licence application and renewal turnaround,” CGI said.
DCS executive director of digital programs Reece Clementi said the endeavour with CGI and Calytera was a “great first step in “revitalising our licensing system in NSW and supports our vision to bring a digital-first approach to our customer services”.
“We are looking forward to rolling out this new system for more licence types to create ever greater efficiencies for our internal processes and ensure we are providing an excellent user experience for both NSW government state and citizens,” he said.
CGI’s consulting services vice president for Australia Les Davey said the company was “honoured and excited” to be working on this “crucial project that delivers a streamlined approach to licensing statewide”.
