A New Dawn in Government Digital Servicing

Greetings from the 2014 Digital Government Conference in Canberra, where Gary Steinberg, CIO, Department of Human Services is speaking on "A New Dawn in Government Digital Servicing". He commented that their student customers are using the new digital channel much more than older customers (which seems reasonable). Use of call, face to face and telephony service channels still account for 40% of the customer access. The department is looking at how to move these customers to the digital service. A new service "Express Connect" will be launched with the customer "in channel". Translating the hype, the customer will use a video conference to communicate with the department, using voice and face recognition to identify the customer. It was claimed this would work with a smart TV set and a smart phone and allow document access. This appears to be designed to replicate a traditional face to face interview to make older customers fee more comfortable. Howevr, the interface also uses what is described as "gaming" technology, with a percentage score indicating how complete the customer's claim is. It will be interesting to see how well this works in practice. It was noted that using the TV as the display would allow the customer to more easily see, than on a small mobile device. This was described as interacting in-channel, in real time.

There would appear to be scope for using this form of wireless soft-docking (I made that term up) for executives who spend all day talking and presenting and never typing. It might also be used for e-learning as well.

The Department intends to use the same interface would be used in people's homes, in offices and in managed care residential facilities. He pointed out that real people don't fit the assumed categories, such as having sixty year old students, with children. Also in ten days time Human Services will be launching a new online service based on "we know who you are", using gaming scores for user friendliness.

Red Cross Removed from Medicare App

Three days ago I questioned the Australian Department of Human Services use of an icon depicting a medical worker with a red cross on their uniform to promote the "Express Plus Medicare" app in the Apple iTunes store. The use of the emblem of a red cross on a white background is reserved under Australian and international law for the Red Cross organization and authorized humanitarian work (Geneva Conventions). Unauthorized use of this symbol is a crime in Australia and internationally.

I noticed today that the red cross has been removed from the icon. There are other symbols which are commonly used to indicate medical services. The obvious solution in this case would have been to change the color of the cross. But removing the cross completely is an acceptable alternative.

Unlawful Use of Red Cross Symbol by Express Plus Medicare App

The Apple iTunes store features "Express Plus Medicare" app which appears to be from the Australian Department of Human Services. However, the App is promoted using an icon depicting a medical worker with a red cross on their uniform. The use of the emblem of a red cross on a white background is reserved under Australian and international law for the Red Cross organization and authorized humanitarian work (Geneva Conventions). Unauthorized use of this symbol is a crime in Australia and internationally. It seems likely that an Australian government agency would be familiar with Australian law, so this app may be a hoax.  There are other symbols which are commonly used to indicate medical services. The obvious solution in this case would be to change the color of the cross.