Automating Briefs and Correspondence is as Easy as 'ABC' for the Victorian Department of Premier and Cabinet

The Victorian Department of Premier and Cabinet (DPC) supports the ministerial portfolios of the Premier, Deputy Premier, Ministers, Aboriginal Affairs, Industrial Relations, and the Cabinet.

Client

Victorian Department of Premier and Cabinet (DPC)

Industry

Government

Organisation Size

Large

Country

Australia

Context

The Victorian Department of Premier and Cabinet (DPC) plays a central role in supporting the Premier and Ministers through the coordination of ministerial briefings, correspondence and parliamentary records. Each year, the department manages more than 7,000 briefings and 15,000 correspondence matters, spanning urgent issues, budget initiatives and legislative change.

Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, these matters were largely managed through a manual, paper-based process that relied on in-person handling and physical circulation of documents. While this approach had been long-established, it provided limited visibility into briefing status and made timely collaboration across distributed teams increasingly difficult.

When Covid-19 forced a rapid shift to remote working, DPC recognised the need to modernise its briefing and correspondence processes to ensure continuity of government, faster decision-making and improved transparency particularly as the volume and urgency of matters increased.

Following a competitive tender process, DPC partnered with Engage Squared to design and deliver an end-to-end digital workflow solution known as ‘ABC’ to manage departmental briefings, correspondence and parliamentary records.

Challenge

Modernising a core government process is never just a technology upgrade – it requires balancing security, compliance and accountability with the need for speed, transparency and new ways of working. For DPC, this challenge was intensified by the onset of Covid-19, as public servants were required to operate remotely while managing a sharp increase in urgent, high-priority matters.

The department needed to replace a deeply entrenched, paper-based briefing process with a secure digital alternative without disrupting critical ministerial decision-making or compromising governance. Approvals still needed to happen quickly, records needed to be auditable, and stakeholders across the department and Ministers’ offices needed confidence in the new approach.

Specifically, DPC needed to:

Transition a high-volume, mission-critical briefing and correspondence process from paper to digital
Maintain strict governance, security and audit requirements in a government environment
Provide real-time visibility into briefing status for departmental and ministerial stakeholders
Enable effective collaboration across distributed teams during remote and hybrid working
Support rapid adoption of new ways of working under extreme time pressure

Success required more than digitising existing processes. DPC needed an end-to-end workflow solution that could modernise how briefings and correspondence were created, reviewed and approved while ensuring continuity of government operations during a period of unprecedented demand.

Solution

DPC approached the engagement with a clear vision and a dedicated internal project team. Engage Squared partnered closely with this team, working alongside departmental stakeholders to refine requirements, validate user experience pathways and align design intent with practical, scalable implementation.

By integrating seamlessly with the department’s delivery team, Engage Squared helped maximise DPC’s existing investment translating complex requirements into clear technical designs and specifications, while maintaining momentum, managing risk and delivering within agreed timelines and budgets.

The result was the Automated Briefing and Correspondence (ABC) system: a secure, digital briefing management platform designed to modernise how briefings, correspondence and parliamentary records are created, tracked and approved.

Built as an Azure-hosted web application on Microsoft 365, ABC leverages SharePoint Online for document management and Azure Active Directory for identity and access control. The platform provides:

A single, centralised view of briefings and correspondence from multiple tracking systems
A consistent, transparent workflow for creating, managing and approving matters
Personalised dashboards that give users real-time visibility into status, priorities and actions
Flexible security and access controls, enabling departments to manage permissions across different record types

To drive adoption and embed the platform into daily work, ABC was also delivered as a Microsoft Teams app. This enabled users already familiar with Teams to manage briefs, correspondence and day-to-day tasks in one place, significantly improving collaboration and productivity.

ABC supports secure access across desktops, laptops, tablets and mobile devices for both internal users and trusted external stakeholders, using Azure Active Directory and AAD B2B. Additional data protection is provided through Microsoft Information Protection labels, ensuring sensitive information is handled in line with government security requirements.

“Out of 20 years working in the UX space and working with developers and different teams, Engage Squared is one of the first to properly work agile and I am really enjoying it. I have a lot of confidence in Engage Squared as a team.”

Sophie Turner, Lead Service Designer, DPC

Result

Since its launch in November 2021, ABC has been rolled out to 1,250 employees with 2000+ briefs successfully passed through the solution. The department has significantly increased the speed and efficiency of managing briefs and correspondence, cutting the number of steps in the briefing process from 51 to 20 and for the first time allowing the automation of time intensive manual tasks.

The department is also achieving its wider goal to reduce their carbon footprint. Whilst not all printing savings can be attributed to ABC, a substantial portion is, with printing costs down 96% in February 2022 when compared to the previous year.

ABC was also awarded the ‘Service Design’ award at the Victorian Premier’s Design Awards in March 2022. The solution was praised for the flexibility it now provides for employees, as well transforming how the department can manage the thousands of matters each year.

Benefits of ABC include:

Allowed flexibility to those using it with accessibility from anywhere, anytime and from any device
Reduced manual handling of paper documents which significantly reduced their carbon footprint
Standardised ways of working throughout the department and across agencies
Simplified reporting and auditing on records with personal views, prioritised lists, and easy exporting options
Centralised access to critical information – improving accessibility, usability equitable use for staff working remotely

The impact of ABC include:

Solution currently being used by 1,250 employees
2,000+ briefs successfully passed through the solution
Number of steps in the briefing process cut from 51 to 20
Printing costs down 96%, largely thanks to the ABC solution
DPC reducing their carbon footprint

“ABC will transform how we manage and collaborate on briefs and correspondence, as well as parliamentary questions at DPC. It will provide many benefits for staff, including more flexibility, design for employees by employees, promotes collaboration, faster and easier, simpler, and digital by default.”

Chair of the Victorian Premier’s Design Awards Jury, Celina Clarke

Final thoughts

By replacing a manual, paper-based process with a secure, digital-first platform, DPC fundamentally transformed how critical government decisions are supported and delivered. ABC enabled faster, more transparent and more accountable handling of ministerial briefings and correspondence at scale and under pressure while improving accessibility for a modern, distributed workforce.

Beyond operational efficiency, the solution demonstrated how government can adopt contemporary digital ways of working without compromising governance, security or trust, while also delivering measurable environmental benefits.

ABC now stands as a practical example of how thoughtful digital transformation can strengthen public service delivery and ensure government remains responsive, resilient and fit for the future.