ACS is proud of this Election Platform released ahead of the 2022 Federal election.

As recent years have highlighted, Australia has a greater need than ever to build up its digital infrastructure. Digital transformation, remote work, e-commerce, security and privacy have become critical elements of a modern economy.

To ensure Australia’s place in the global ecosystem, we need to ensure that we have the professional skills and infrastructure in place to build on the economy’s strengths, with the objective of making the nation a digital leader by the end of the decade.

Between June and August 2021, ACS members and the public were surveyed on key technology policy priorities to advance the national interest. This included identifying the digital opportunities for our nation, and the blockers holding Australia back from achieving its potential.

A clear message from the community was the need to boost the size of the tech workforce to address the many skill shortages in the economy.

One of the most effective approaches to overcoming this problem is to champion diversity in the tech workforce, particularly around gender balance, with ACS Australia’s Digital Pulse report consistently finding that women are under-represented in the sector.

Discussions also highlighted the coming explosion in data and digital services that will redefine our society, and that is why we propose programs to boost the skills of ICT teachers, the public sector, and the broader workforce.

More immediately, the nation needs to boost its cybersecurity defences as well as dealing with the issue of online fraud and scams that are costing Australians millions of dollars each year.

Australia cannot be complacent in face of these changes. The nation has been sliding in many economic measures, including the technical skills of our workforce, the education rankings of our students and the complexity of the Australian economy.

The measures laid out here seek to address some of these structural issues facing the economy.

Technology will be front and centre as we transition to the economies of the future.

We urge all Australia’s political parties to adopt our proposals to ensure the nation will lead the world in the years to come.