❓ Mr Catania inquires about enhancements to the Department of Water's online presence. The Minister responds, highlighting the 'Water Online' portal, a $13.5 million initiative aimed at reducing red tape, streamlining processes, and improving access to water-related information.
AnsweredQoN 985Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
DEPARTMENT OF WATER — DIGITISATION —WATER ONLINE
985. Mr V.A. CATANIA to the Minister for
Water:
Has the Department of Water enhanced its online presence; and, if so,
could the minister please update the house what this great initiative is all
about?
Several members interjected.
985. Mr V.A. CATANIA to the Minister for
Water:
Has the Department of Water enhanced its online presence; and, if so,
could the minister please update the house what this great initiative is all
about?
Several members interjected.
AnswerView source ↗
This is another —
Mr
D.J. Kelly interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for Bassendean, that is enough!
Ms M.J. DAVIES : This is another example of the government's
commitment to removing unnecessary red tape. The Department of Water has been
working very hard to make sure it can reduce the time that is required for our
licensees, industry, business and government to interact with the Department of
Water. Water Online is an online portal that allows lodgement of water
licences, requests for land planning advice that is required for Water Corporation
planning, and access to all kinds of water information in Western Australia.
Point of Order
Dr K.D. HAMES : Mr Speaker, I am sure you would not be able
to hear, because the member is doing it at a very low level, but I know that
the member for Bassendean is constantly interjecting on the minister.
The SPEAKER : Member for Bassendean, and everybody else
who is having private meetings, I am battling to hear the minister.
Questions without Notice Resumed
Ms M.J. DAVIES : I cannot hear a thing!
This is the result of a $13.5 million investment from the state
government. It has been a significant project that is encouraging paperless
transactions. The Department of Water has had an enormous requirement placed on
its people by the vast amount of information that is acquired from the public.
We can now lodge licences electronically. We can get data from information that
is collected by the department through monthly meter readings, and that is all
provided through this portal. There are 750 people who registered for Water Online in the two months
since it has been up and running fully. We have over 10 000 water licence
holders and we hope that over time they will all start to use this electronic
portal. Since September, 40 per cent of the applications received by the
department have been electronically lodged, so we are starting to see a shift
and it is improving outcomes for those who interact with the Department of
Water on a regular basis. We have a network of 120 000 monitoring sites across
the state. The data is collected and fed into the system. When I became
minister, I was told there were vast amounts of information across the state in
the back rooms of various Department of Water buildings, which people were
unable to access in a timely manner. That information is very important for
people who are looking to invest, and for others who have daily interaction
with the Department of Water, including other government departments. As that
information has become digitised and made available electronically, we have
seen a shift in waiting times for information from months to sometimes minutes.
This is a fantastic outcome for a relatively small investment. Those reduced
waiting times are, of course, delivering savings and we will continue to not
only work through the digitisation of our information, but also find other ways
we can share this with the broader community.
Mr
D.J. Kelly interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for Bassendean, that is enough!
Ms M.J. DAVIES : This is another example of the government's
commitment to removing unnecessary red tape. The Department of Water has been
working very hard to make sure it can reduce the time that is required for our
licensees, industry, business and government to interact with the Department of
Water. Water Online is an online portal that allows lodgement of water
licences, requests for land planning advice that is required for Water Corporation
planning, and access to all kinds of water information in Western Australia.
Point of Order
Dr K.D. HAMES : Mr Speaker, I am sure you would not be able
to hear, because the member is doing it at a very low level, but I know that
the member for Bassendean is constantly interjecting on the minister.
The SPEAKER : Member for Bassendean, and everybody else
who is having private meetings, I am battling to hear the minister.
Questions without Notice Resumed
Ms M.J. DAVIES : I cannot hear a thing!
This is the result of a $13.5 million investment from the state
government. It has been a significant project that is encouraging paperless
transactions. The Department of Water has had an enormous requirement placed on
its people by the vast amount of information that is acquired from the public.
We can now lodge licences electronically. We can get data from information that
is collected by the department through monthly meter readings, and that is all
provided through this portal. There are 750 people who registered for Water Online in the two months
since it has been up and running fully. We have over 10 000 water licence
holders and we hope that over time they will all start to use this electronic
portal. Since September, 40 per cent of the applications received by the
department have been electronically lodged, so we are starting to see a shift
and it is improving outcomes for those who interact with the Department of
Water on a regular basis. We have a network of 120 000 monitoring sites across
the state. The data is collected and fed into the system. When I became
minister, I was told there were vast amounts of information across the state in
the back rooms of various Department of Water buildings, which people were
unable to access in a timely manner. That information is very important for
people who are looking to invest, and for others who have daily interaction
with the Department of Water, including other government departments. As that
information has become digitised and made available electronically, we have
seen a shift in waiting times for information from months to sometimes minutes.
This is a fantastic outcome for a relatively small investment. Those reduced
waiting times are, of course, delivering savings and we will continue to not
only work through the digitisation of our information, but also find other ways
we can share this with the broader community.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.