Queensland one-stop government services hub Brisbane, Digi Mart USA News (Brisbane, Queensland, Australia): Queenslanders can now go to one place in Brisbane’s central business district to get a marriage certificate, a tattoo licence, enrol to vote and more, after a new government services hub opened its doors on Monday.
The Service Queensland centre, at 119-133 Adelaide Street, combines services including Transport and Main Roads, the Department of Families, Seniors, Disability Services and Child Safety, the Department of Justice and the Queensland Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages in one place. More than 200 Queensland government services are available through Service Queensland, with more to be added.
Services available at the city centre through the Queensland Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages include applying for a civil partnership, marriage or death certificate, surrogacy or adoption, and name changes. Through the Office of Fair Trading, Queenslanders can also apply for tattoo licensing and permits, liquor licensing, auctioneers licensing and more.
Minister for Customer Services Steven Minnikin said the initiative is “all about giving people choice.” “This is a brand-new way of interacting with everyday Queenslanders,” he said.
A Service Queensland website and app have also been launched. Minnikin said all efforts had been made to secure Queenslanders’ data.
“The majority of Queenslanders do want to do things digitally,” he said. “We’ve got to make sure that at all times we protect Queenslanders’ data, and that is something that we are particularly focused on.”
Minnikin said the digital driver’s licence, on which the system is built, uses encryption protocols that are among the highest internationally. “It has been designed with very good bones when it comes to data privacy and digital protection, and that’s something that will always be top and centre of our mind,” he said.
The Adelaide Street storefront cost about $2 million. Minnikin said it was within budget and on time, and that combining services had not caused any job losses.
“We will be rolling out different service centres through the budget process,” he said. “We always made it clear that the first one would be to get the first one up and running and to perfect that, which we’ve done.
It was always as part of the budget process, to have this particular flagship store, but there are other ones that we will look at rolling out.” Minnikin said he expected the next centre to open in North Queensland.
The minister was also asked by media about The Australian’s reporting of fraudulent claims for domestic violence victim funding. He said the state government “unashamedly is absolutely backing victims of domestic violence every step of the way,” but that people exploiting these schemes should face the full force of the law.
“There will always be certain individuals potentially in society that will try and rort something, whether it be NDIS or this particular issue, but at the end of the day … we will not be dissuaded from our central goal, which is to provide domestic victims with every bit of support that they require,” the minister said.
Minnikin said he expected the relevant ministers were working to prevent fraudulent activity. “Bottom line is this, we want to make sure that money goes to those people that deserve it,” he said.
