August 2009

A National Standards Framework

for Government

AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT INFORMATION MANAGEMENT OFFICE

(AGIMO)

August 2009

A National Standards Framework

for Government

AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT INFORMATION MANAGEMENT OFFICE

(AGIMO)

ISBN: 978-1-921600-43-2
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Copyright of all Australian Governments 2009.
This document was developed collaboratively by all Australian State and Territory Governments, the
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National Standards Framework: Copyright of all Australian Governments 2009.
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Contents

1 Overview
1.1 Purpose
1.2 Scope
1.3 Context
Key Features of a Standards Governance Process
2.1 Exception
2.2 Jurisdictional Sign Off

1
2
2
2
7
8
8

Governance Structure
3.2 Support Service Description

9
12

How it Works A Walkthrough

4.1 Example 1
4.2 Example 2

13
14
14

Attachment 1

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1 Overview

Overview

1.1

Purpose

This document describes a framework for initiating, endorsing and managing the
development of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) standards to support
the integration of cross agency business processes.
ICT professionals, who are seeking agreement on ICT standards for cross agency
interaction, may consider this nationally endorsed Framework to be a useful tool in
achieving this goal.

1.2

Scope

This Framework deals with the need to agree on standards for cross agency interaction.
It does not deal with formal standards setting processes conducted by Standards
Australia nor does it impinge on sectoral standards governance procedures already in
place (eg Health, Education). Standards that are set through a legislative mandate such
as statistical standards through the Australian Bureau of Statistics are also not in scope.
The effect of this framework is to provide a mechanism that delivers transparency and a
degree of certainty by agencies involved in collaborative projects. One of the problems
identified in cross agency interactions is the method, or protocol, through which
agreement is reached on the standards to be applied in those interactions.
A foundation of this Framework is that agency and jurisdictional independence is
respected. At the same time the Framework provides agencies and jurisdictions a way to
help ensure the timely completion of collaborative projects.
Further support is also available through the National Collaboration Framework (NCF).
The NCF contains a Collaborative Head Agreement addressing the legal issues involved in
cross agency integrations.

1.3

Context

The diagram right illustrates how the standards process supports effective and efficient
agency collaboration.
The National Standards Framework for Government will develop over time an agreed set
of reusable information and process models that can be accessed by agencies through an
on line repository or library.
By using agreed tools and methods, complying with governance and policy frameworks and
avoiding duplication through reference to a whole of government architecture framework
and information model, agencies will have a sound basis for delivering cross agency projects.

Overview

Figure 1 Effective and Efficient Agency Collaboration

Tools and methods

Reference models

boration
gency colla

Policy and Governance

Effective and efficient a

Library of agreed information and

process models

Standards development process

1.4

Background

The need for a coherent national approach to standardisation in government is becoming

more apparent for two reasons.
Firstly, the advent of new technologies and methods associated with service oriented
architecture and web services now makes it possible to develop scalable cross agency
integrations on a cost effective basis. This approach derives from international best practice
and is based on the separation of the logical design from the physical implementation of
systems. Consequently the development and reuse of components becomes possible
including information and process models as well as technical interface patterns.

Overview

The figure below demonstrates the method by which each layer of analysis (Why, What
and How) is separate from the deployment technology. This delivers information and
process models that are independent of specific technologies thereby promoting reuse.
Figure
2 Approach toof
the
Developmentand
of Information
and Process Models
Development
information
process models

Contextual
layer

Goals, strategies, objectives,

stakeholders, definitions

Conceptual process models

Conceptual
layer

Conceptual information models

Logical
layer

Logical information models

Physical
layer

Logical process models

WSDL WS policy
BPEL
XML schema
SOAP WS addressing, security
and reliable messaging

The second reason is that government policy objectives in the 21st century require greater
agility by agencies. This often requires collaboration across portfolios and jurisdictions.
Complex policy objectives related to water management, carbon trading, standard
business reporting, national security, tax fraud etc all require the participation of a wide
range of agencies.
In this context it is important that agencies have a mechanism for agreeing on a
standardised way of exchanging data to help achieve those business outcomes.
With an agreed mechanism and processes in place considerable time will be saved

Overview

as each new multi agency project wont have to start from scratch. They will have an
authoritative process to follow with the potential to reuse work already completed in
other projects.
The scope of work covered by this Framework is the area between agencies. Agencies
are of course free to use whatever processes and standards they like within their
agency boundary. However, when agencies seek to exchange data across their agency
boundary the requirement is to operate in a standardised environment or the alignment
interface. The diagram on the following page indicates the areas that need to be aligned
to achieve scalable integrations. The key alignment parameters are goals, processes,
information, security and messaging.

Business Domain Model

Figure 3 Business Domain Model

Public Process

Organization A

Organization B

Private Process

Goal Alignment
Process Alignment
Information Alignment
Security Infrastructure
Message Infrasructure

Alignment Interface

Alignment Interface

Business
Processes

Private Process

Business
Processes

Standardisation of information and processes can provide significant benefits to

Australian governments through reduction in risk, increase in reuse and a higher level of
interoperability (and hence efficiency) within and across jurisdictions. They support the
effective delivery of services to citizens and business.
While established national and international standards bodies are active in delivering
standards across a wide range of domains their processes take significant time to finalise.
This is partly due to the much wider range of stakeholders (international, private/public
sector) and the treatment of intellectual property (IP) issues.
Governments however can collaborate to deliver standards that support their
requirement for immediate or near term business needs. In this context standards are
authorised through administrative agreement and review mechanisms.

Overview

Its important to differentiate between semantic and syntactic standards. Semantic

standards define terms and their meaning whether represented on paper, XML, or any
other presentation. For example Address.Locality.Text might be the standard term for
suburb or country town used in the context of addressing. Syntactic standards define
standard ways to represent the semantic terms in various formats (paper, EDI, XML, etc).

The translation of a semantic standard to a syntactic standard requires the use of an

agreed methodology that:
is an open standard.
conforms with international best practice.
leads to consistent representations so that a component developed by one group can
be re-used by another; and
is accessible to the majority of developers through appropriate training and
support.
The use of a standard methodology is important because a developer can implement
a standard in many different ways. Over time this will lead to degradation of a
standard and reduced interoperability. Some domains have already well established
methodologies (eg HL7 for Health). The Name and Address standard was developed
using the UNCEFACT Modelling Methodology (UMM) which is an internationally agreed
standard.

Key Features of a Standards

Governance Process

Key Features of a Standards

Governance Process

A key requirement of any standards process is that standards are developed, and seen to
be developed, in an open collaborative, transparent manner to ensure both quality and
trust. This implies a clearly defined process, timelines and decision making rules.
The standards development process should aim to maximise re-use of standard
information components that have already been developed.
Finally, a standards process should enable agencies to publish and discover the standards.
There needs to be a library or repository where a standard, once agreed, is stored
and maintained so there is a single source of truth. It is proposed that this facility be
provided in GovDex1.

2.1

Exception

It is not proposed that this Framework apply to the Defence or National Security
communities. Given the requirement for a rigorous security environment it is proposed
that these groups develop their own arrangements for governing standards.
However it is recommended that the Department of Defence be fully engaged in
this framework in so far as their interactions outside the national security space (eg
interactions with Veterans Affairs, Centrelink etc).

2.2

Jurisdictional Sign Off

Any proposed standard that impacts across jurisdictions must be considered by

each affected jurisdiction before proceeding to a vote at the Cross Jurisdictional
Interoperability Group (CJIG) for endorsement. This will only apply in matters that will
be ultimately endorsed by the Cross Jurisdictional Chief Information Officers Committee
(CJCIOC). For this reason it is recommended that each jurisdiction that wishes to
participate in this regime develop a transparent, easy to use, standards governance
process.

GovDex is a resource developed by the Department of Finance and Deregulation to support cross agency
collaboration within and across jurisdictions.

Governance Structure

Governance Structure

The key element of a governance structure is a community of stakeholders who have a

business need to collaborate to agree on an ICT standard or set of standards to help them
address their policy objectives.
The governance structure will meet the needs of these communities by providing a
clear pathway to gaining endorsement of a standard by authorities such as the CJCIOC
(for cross jurisdictional standards) and the Chief Information Officer Committee (CIOC)
(where the standard requires endorsement in the Commonwealth jurisdiction2.)
The Project Communities own and control the lifecycle of the standards they develop.
Funding for Project Communities comes from members of the community.

10

Project communities will be supported by a secretariat based in the Department of

Finance and Deregulation. This will help ensure that standards are developed efficiently
and effectively.
Based on the paper that was endorsed by the OCC, it is proposed project communities
will be supported by a range of Support Services that will focus on ensuring that
standards are developed efficiently and effectively. Funding for Support Services will be
provided jointly under the auspices of the CJCIOC 50% funding by the Commonwealth
with the remaining 50% to be funded by the States and Territories as per an agreed
Grants Commission formula).
The diagram on the next page shows the elements that comprise the standards
governance framework.

In most cases it will be a requirement for the CIOC to endorse standards that affect Commonwealth
agencies prior to wider consideration by the CJCIOC.

Governance Structure

Figure 4 Governance Structure

Standards governance model

Cross Jurisdictional Chief Information
Officer Committee
Endorsing Authorities

Cross Jurisdictional Interoperability Working Group,

Australian Government Architecture Working Group

Coordination

GovDex
Marketing and
Communication

3.1

eDA

AS4590

Project
Communities

SBR

Development
process

Support Services

Methods
and tools

Compliance

Orphan standards

In rare cases there will be a need for a standard that is ubiquitous with no obvious
natural owner. Examples would be the Name and Address standard and the XML
Namespace protocol. It is recommended that where this exists that either CJCIOC or
CIOC, on the advice of the relevant working group, allocates responsibility for developing/

11

Governance Structure

maintaining the standard to a particular agency and authorises that agency to convene a
working group to manage the standard.

3.2

Support Service Description

Development Process: This is an off the shelf standards development process that is
endorsed by CJCIOC. It is the default process that communities must show compliance
with in order to gain endorsement of their standard. Communities can apply to vary this
process or apply another development process however they must first gain approval
from the relevant working groups CJIG or in the case of Australian Government agencies,
the Australian Government Services Architecture Working Group (AGSAWG). A candidate
development process is at Attachment 1.

12

An important part of the standards development process is to identify any opportunities

to reuse existing standards (in part or whole).
Methods and Tools: Over time a range of methods and tools will be provided to
help communities develop their standards. This includes case studies, modelling
methodology (UMM), and already developed UML models. These tools and methods can
be accessed through GovDex.
Coordination: The Coordination service helps communities interface with the various
recommending and endorsing bodies. They also monitor the progress of the project
communities to ensure that they stay on track and provides advice to the communities
as they progress. This service also interfaces with Standards Australia and other
international standards bodies such as OASIS, W3C and UN/CEFACT.
Compliance: The Compliance service supports Project Communities in the management
of their standards over time. Each Project Community specifies the compliance criteria
successive implementations must achieve. These criteria could vary depending on
the type of implementation (eg third party commercial software, government agency
implementation). Compliance could also be self assessed or require independent third
part verification.
Marketing and Communication: This service helps Project Communities develop a
marketing and communication strategy for their standard and assists in the monitoring
of implementation and obtaining user feedback. It also ensures general awareness
about the development and take up of standards in government.

How it Works A Walkthrough

How it Works A Walkthrough

4.1

Example 1

The Electronic Development Application Forum is developing a national standard for

development applications.
Representatives are appointed from each affected jurisdiction in this case all States and
Local Government Associations. (Commonwealth agencies are not represented).
A project proposal is developed and sent to the CJIG. It is proposed that the Standard
Development and Endorsement Process at Attachment 1 be used to develop the
standard.

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The CJIG agrees to the proposal out of session (their representatives having been
separately advised by jurisdictional representatives on the project team).
The Project team appoints a project leader and elects an editorial team. The Editor
prepares the first draft of the specification which is then reviewed by project team
members. When the Project Leader thinks a consensus can be reached a vote is taken.
If 80% of participants agree and at least 6 jurisdictions agree then the vote is resolved in
the affirmative.
The Project Leader submits the specification to the CJIG who then decides whether to
recommend its adoption to the CJCIOC.

4.2

Example 2

Centrelink, Immigration, ATO and DEWR agree to work together to develop a standard
data definition for the exchange of data concerning employment assistance eligibility.
Representatives are appointed from each agency (can be more than one representative
from each agency BUT only one vote per agency.)
A project proposal is prepared and sent to the AGSAWG. The AGSAWG agree to the
proposal and the project team selects a Project Leader and Editor. The Editor prepares the
first draft of the specification which is then reviewed by project team members. When
the Project Leader thinks a consensus can be reached a vote is taken. If at least all but one
of the agencies agree then the vote is resolved in the affirmative.
The Project Leader submits the specification to the AGSAWG which then decides whether
to recommend its adoption to the CIOC.

Attachment 1

Attachment 1

Figure 5 Development and Endorsement Process

Standards endorsement process

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Step

Description

1) Project proposal

High level proposal to CJIWG/AWG who

will identify project leader and make
recommendations to CJCIOC and CIOC

2) Project
authorisation

CJCIOC/CIOC authorise the project and

participants and set the timeframes

3) Requirements
definition

Business requirements collected from project

participants and stakeholders. Project leader
documents scope and requirements

4) First draft

Election of editorial team.

Methodology training if required.
Editor creates the first draft specification

5) Review

Submit to project participants. Minimum 1 month

review period. Must have a minimum 80%
consensus. (6 jurisdictions when cross jurisdictional)

6) Compliance
review

Apply compliance process

and advise CJIWG/AWG

7) Implementation
verification

Standard successfully deployed by a minimum

of two agencies/organisations

8) Endorsement

CJIWG/AWG recommends endorsement of the

standard to CJCIOC/CIOC

Attachment 1

This process can also be used for subsequent implementation of a standard to ensure
compliance with the original standard. For example, if an agency chooses to use the
recently developed AS 4590 Name and Address syntax standard for car registration,
then the developer of that instance can obtain a compliance check. This will determine
whether this particular instance of the standard has been developed according to the
agreed methodology.
Note: The Name and Address standard comprises all possible data elements that could
possibly be required for ANY instance of Name and Address. Most instances of the Name
and Address standard will use a subset of the standard.
The endorsement process can be modified where appropriate where, for example,
standards have already been developed through another process and are seeking
endorsement retrospectively. It is up to each community to decide on the endorsement
process they wish to adopt. The only requirement is that they must obtain approval from
the recommending body (CJIG or AGSAWG). Should this proposal proceed then further
work will be required develop objective endorsement criteria that take account of a range
of scenarios.

17