This guidance aims to support government agencies to design and implement Digital Investment Plans (DIP). Greater focus on short, medium and long-term planning intends to instil a culture of future-focused strategic digital investment planning, leading to better digital investment outcomes.

A DIP is a resource to outline and define the short, medium and long-term digital goals, initiatives and outcomes of an agency’s digital horizon. It also aligns digital investments with the strategic priorities, business needs and user expectations of the agency.

This guidebook is applicable to all Australian Government agencies that are required to submit a DIP as part of the Budget process. The DIP should align with the agency’s strategic plan, business case and ICT strategy, and demonstrate how the agency contributes to the achievement of the Data and digital government strategy. From 1 July 2025, non-corporate Commonwealth entities will be required to develop DIPs in line with the government digital strategy. 

The guidebook includes templates and outlines the six key standards DIPs should contain: 

1. agency overview
2. current state systems
3. digital outlook
4. planning
5. enablers
6. risks.

It is accompanied by the Digital Investment Plan (DIP) policy which sets out the key requirements agencies must meet when developing their DIP.