The Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources (DISER) has declared as an ‘absolute success’ the launch of the Australian Public Service (APS) Blockchain Network earlier this month.
Head of the Digital Economy and Technology Division at DISER, Narelle Luchetti said the launch was the first step in delivering on Signpost 7 of the National Blockchain Roadmap — ‘raising awareness across the APS’.
Participants at the launch, including many senior Public Servants, heard the leader of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD’s) Blockchain Policy Centre, Caroline Malcolm, speak about the importance of establishing a network of APS colleagues to build expertise in blockchain.
“Policy-makers need to understand the environment; the disruption blockchain is causing to that environment, and encourage attendees to check out the resources available at the OECD Global Blockchain Policy Centre,” Ms Malcolm said.
Meanwhile, the Australian Border Force (ABF) is developing solutions to make cross- border trade simpler and paperless.
It has launched a trial with Singapore Customs and the Singapore Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) to test digital verification systems — the first to be developed using blockchain technology.
Commissioner at the ABF, Michael Outram said the ABF looked forward to close collaboration with international partner Agencies on mutual border modernisation programs.
He said the trial would test digital verification platforms across both the ABF-developed Intergovernmental Ledger and IMDA’s TradeTrust for electronic trade documents.
“Businesses and regulators will give feedback on their experience verifying Certificates of Origin with the two systems, with the aim of reducing administration costs and increasing trade efficiency,” Commissioner Outram said.
