Two projects commissioned by the Department of Health and Aged Care (Department) and designed and delivered in collaboration with Liquid have taken out the top awards at the Better Future Gov Design Awards 2024 for the Best New Service or Application category.
Head to Health, the recently redesigned national website connecting Australians to mental health support, won the category, with judges recognising the innovative design that exceeds expectations and fills a previously unmet need.
The national Head to Health website uses a person-centred, digital approach to make it easier for Australians to navigate and access mental health services.
Informed by a broad program of research and co-design with more than 350 stakeholders, the enhanced digital experience is designed to support and understand an individual’s situation and provide tailored suggestions that are clinically safe and relevant. It connects information, programs and services from across the mental health ecosystem and empowers individuals to take action, even in times of uncertainty.
The Star ratings project, developed as an enhancement to the My Aged Care website, was awarded silver in the same category. Star ratings makes it easier for older Australians and their families to understand and compare the quality of care provided by an aged care home. The project brings together complex and disparate data relating to compliance, quality indicators, staffing levels and resident feedback, in a way that is meaningful and increases transparency in the sector.
Introducing and applying a Star Ratings scheme to all aged care homes was a significant undertaking by the Department. However, the innovation of this project was doing so with the cooperation of the industry, in a short time frame, with available data, and in a way that was meaningful to older Australians and steeped in human-centred design.
Both the national Head to Health website and Star ratings address significant pain points for people navigating complex and fragmented service ecosystems and empower people to make informed decisions about their care options. Their success demonstrates the potential of digital, person-centred approaches to service navigation and the opportunity to create real change.
Liquid’s CEO and Partner, Fiona Armstrong, stated: "We are incredibly proud of the Better Future recognition of these significant projects. Head to Health and My Aged Care are important national resources and their impact lies in the fact they’ve been co-designed with those they were built to support.
"In delivering these projects, we’ve set a new benchmark for safe and respectful human-centred design, that shows how we can enable innovation at a pace that responds to social issues, even in sensitive areas."
These are not the first Better Future Gov Design awards the Department and Liquid have received. In 2023, My Aged Care was awarded Gold for the Digital Experience - Website and Expanded Service or Application categories, as well as Silver for the Digital - Government Services category.
Liquid’s work with the Department has a history of impressing, with the national Head to Health website awarded the prestigious Good Design Award for Excellence in Design and Innovation in 2023 and previously winning Best in Class in 2019 for the earlier Head to Health gateway website. My Aged Care was also awarded Gold for Digital Design at the Good Design Awards in 2020.