In other public sector ICT and digital news for 23 November:

• The CSIRO has signed a five-year contract with Google to assist the company in delivering its $1 billion Digital Future Initiative. The partnership will focus on national missions surrounding clean energy and artificial intelligence.  
• The Federal Government has launched the Digital Ready Assessment Tool to help businesses determine their digital maturity levels and areas for improvement. The tool gives companies a score out of 100 based on seven key pillars of digital transformation. 
• NSW will soon pass a law that will ban police from accessing COVID-19 check-in data, following similar legislation recently passed in Western Australia and the ACT.  
• The South Australian government has launched EntryCheck SA, a tool that all incoming travellers must use to verify vaccination status, departure location and COVID risk. The app uses facial recognition and geolocation tech to ensure that travellers comply with quarantine regulations.  
• Australia has signed a partnership agreement with the US to enhance each country’s quantum technology through knowledge sharing and regular policy meetings.  
• The QLD government has launched a $1.1 million initiative offering hundreds of Defence Force veterans free TAFE education for future career pathways in the public sector.  
• The NSW government is developing a new WofG approach to customer digital identity, with plans to procure two new digital identity systems for identity verification and identity sharing.