NICTA and Kiama Municipal Council unveiled Australia’s first local government Digital Service Counter pilot at Kiama on Tuesday.

NICTA, Australia’s Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Research Centre of Excellence, announced the beginning of a pilot of its Digital Service Kiosks at Kiama Library to increase access to government services.

In the Kiama local government area, 35.6 per cent of residents are over 55 and 77.7 per cent of residents connected to the internet.

The pilot seeks to remove the barriers to accessing government services by providing an easy-to-use Digital Service Counter, connected to the National Broadband Network at the library. 

Residents will be able to access services digitally, with real-time support via a video connected customer service representative.

Kiama resident Brian Finch, 87, visited the library for the unveiling, and conducted a mock application for a rates concession using the kiosk.

‘‘It was pretty easy, it doesn’t take much explanation,’’ he said.

‘‘It’s just a matter of knowing where to put the forms, so they’re totally visible to the person on the other end.

‘‘The fact that you can actually have a conversation with them (helps).’’ 

Dr Terry Percival AM, director of NICTA’s Broadband and Digital Economy Business Team said the pilot of the Digital Service Kiosks with Kiama council represented the future of government service delivery.

‘‘The technology makes it easier for people to interact face-to-face with people, without actually going all the way to the council offices.

‘‘So it can be used in retirement villages or outlying centres.

‘‘Initially we’re obviously doing it in the library because it’s central and we can work with people.

‘‘This is new technology which is really high-quality; the video and audio is encrypted... It’s very private, you don’t have to worry about that.

“The bandwidth provided by the NBN combined with the Digital Service Kiosk will improve access to government services for senior citizens, isolated members of the community and those without access to technology.

‘‘This is the way of the future, and obviously it’s going to be rolled out to the more remote areas of Kiama.

‘‘We also see that Kiama could offer this as a service to other tiers of government.’’ 

Kiama Mayor Brian Petschler said it was a fantastic project which built on the community’s ‘‘early acceptance of the NBN roll out and adds another layer to the services we provide”.

‘‘It represents the future of local government services and information delivery,’’ he said. 

Councillor Neil Reilly said the technology would also have future benefits with regard to health care and community engagement.

The pilot will run until April 16.