Connectivity is the movement of ideas

Infrastructure as the engine of reform

Victor offered his perspective on the importance of digital transformation, shaped by 12 years in government – including as Minister for Finance and Digital. He challenged the traditional political focus on physical infrastructure, arguing that the next leap in productivity comes from digital transformation.

We used to move ideas by foot, then by horse, car and train. Now, the movement of ideas is happening via digital channels. And when you move ideas, you get serious productivity gains. And that's why digital infrastructure is so important.

- Victor Dominello

The stakes are particularly high for the public sector, where rising costs and complex service demands challenge governments to find new ways of delivering services. Because the public sector underpins so much of the national economy, its response to this digital shift creates the landscape in which every business must operate.

In health, for example, Victor warned of a looming financial cliff as aging populations drive up expenditure. The solution? A shift from triage and treatment to prediction and prevention, underpinned by digital health tools. He offered a tangible example: a smart ring detecting poor sleep and a raised temperature could warn you that you might get a cold, helping reduce a seven-day illness to two with proactive rest.

In education, the rise of AI is accelerating the shift toward lifelong learning. For Victor, our society will have to focus on building skills that evolve fluidly as jobs change. Governments, he argued, need to move beyond rigid systems and support more agile, personalised learning pathways.

Lessons from government transformation: Data, agility, and co-design

Under Victor’s leadership, the New South Wales government digital program became a global exemplar of digital service delivery. He said ServiceNSW’s transformation was a case in point. It was a shift from siloed processes to a “one-stop shop” model built around the individual.

The numbers Victor cited from the ServiceNSW transformation speak for themselves:

• 85% opt-in rates for digital credentials like driver’s licences.
• Customer satisfaction scores above 90%.
• Billions saved in costs avoided.

“These are the kind of improvements that get the attention of the White House, the UN, the World Bank,” Victor noted.

But success wasn’t just due to technology. It required agile governance. Legislation had to enable data sharing, funding models were reimagined to bypass yearly budget cycles, and oversight mechanisms implemented to resolve data roadblocks in real time.

It’s about agile data, agile decisions, agile funding, and agile thinking.

- Victor Dominello

The transformation of NSW’s customer services represents what he calls "Government 3.0," and it stands as a prototype for the future. Victor said the next wave, Government 4.0, is on the horizon for around 2035. According to Victor, Government 4.0 is set to feature AI agents in mainstream use and 6G mobile connectivity.

A wake-up call for government and industry

While Victor acknowledged impressive strides by the private sector, he also highlighted a risk to national productivity: the gap between the rapid technological acceleration and governments still "rooted in 20th-century mindsets".

To avoid being left behind, Victor urged greater public-private collaboration as the engine for progress. He pointed to ambitious global benchmarks such as Singapore's passportless airport and the UAE's use of AI to co-design legislation. These are "not distant aspirations—they're already happening” and underscore the need for Australia to move faster on its own foundational pieces, including digital identity, open banking, verifiable credentials, and a potential central bank digital currency.

It all comes back to trust

One constant across sectors is the need for trust. Whether that’s patients sharing their health data, citizens embracing digital ID, or consumers engaging with AI-powered services. Victor sees digital literacy as the missing link.

If we get people more comfortable with using tech, that will be a big piece in lifting productivity.

- Victor Dominello

This isn’t just a government concern. It’s a shared responsibility that extends to every organisation building, managing or relying on digital infrastructure. That aligns closely to Telstra InfraCo’s mission to make Australia a more connected nation. As Victor’s address reminds us, connection isn’t just a technical function – it’s an economic imperative and a social contract. The digital infrastructure we have today and are investing in for tomorrow doesn’t just carry data; it carries potential. Because ultimately, connectivity is the movement of ideas.