Health Minister Tony Abbott, recently suggested that "a central database" could be used to manage Australians' identity on health and Medicare records, but this sparked off fears that only one document would need to be counterfeited in order to establish an identity.
Howard shifted the Australian Government Information Management Office from the Department of Communications, IT and the Arts to the Department of Finance after the last election to give the office more clout.
Overseeing the operation of AGIMO is Tasmanian Senator and Special Minister of State Eric Abetz, who hopes to drive a change in cultural attitudes towards technology in government agencies, and to save hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars in the process.
The Australian Government Information Management Office (AGIMO) made the finding in an independent survey it commissioned of nearly 6,000 Australians.
"This is the first study to cover federal state, territory and local government together, and it shows that people will use online services if they know they're available," Special Minister of State, Senator Eric Abetz, said.
Previously, only 21 percent of Australians accessed online government services. But the survey, which was commissioned by the Australian Government Information Management Office, still found that -- in terms of individual behavior -- the most common channel used was face-to-face service with 52 percent, followed by phone with 26 percent and the Internet with 15 percent. The least popular channel was through the mail.
Compiled by a consortium of Dandolopartners, Roy Morgan Research and BDO Consulting on behalf of the Australian Government Information Management Office, the survey of nearly 6000 Australians found usage of e-government services has jumped from 21 percent in 2002 to 39 percent in 2004.