The Australian government has recently announced that it will develop a national Digital Economy Strategy and has published a paper to start this conversation.

The strategy will set out a roadmap for the government, the private sector, and the community to work together to harness the benefits of digital transformation. The government will launch the strategy in the first half of 2018, following an open conversation with governments, businesses and the community.

The paper outlined a number of emerging technologies which could significantly disrupt existing systems. This includes 5G, Artificial Intelligence, and blockchain or distributed ledger technologies (DLT), among others. It said:

“The next phase of the internet, where we are always on and always connected, has the potential to transform our economy even further. Horizontal platform technologies like distributed ledger technology (for example, blockchain) and machine learning will support innovation and productivity right across the economy.”

Further explaining about blockchain technology, it said:

“Distributed ledger technology (for example, blockchain) has the potential to disrupt and revolutionise financial transactions and services. It can be applied wherever a verified and trusted transaction is required—health, government services, real estate, media, energy and more. Blockchain allows parties to transact without the need for a centralized intermediary (like a bank) to verify the transaction. The Treasury and CSIRO’s Data61 have undertaken a review to examine distributed ledger technology’s general potential and its implications for government and industry. Australia is also leading the development of blockchain standards.”

Earlier this year, The Australian Treasurer, the Hon. Scott Morrison MP, revealed that the government has announced a support of $350,000 over a period of four years for the development of blockchain standards.

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