The background
For an organisation whose entire purpose is making information accessible, OIC’s existing digital presence told a different story. The legacy website was structured around OIC’s own internal organisational structure, built to reflect how the office worked, rather than how its users thought. The result was a site that presented government language to community members who simply wanted to know: “How do I find out what information the government holds about me?” or “What do I do if I think my privacy has been breached?”
Content was siloed across the site, separated by internal function rather than user need. Navigation was rigid and difficult to traverse. Maintaining content currency in an environment where legislative interpretation and privacy law evolves constantly was a persistent operational burden.
Stakeholder feedback reinforced insights that showed users were arriving on the site with clear intent and leaving without answers. The website had become an obstacle between OIC and the communities it existed to serve. The imperative to act was clear.
The challenge
The redevelopment brief was ambitious and purposeful from the outset. OIC needed a website capable of serving two audiences with vastly different levels of familiarity with the regulatory landscape, a member of the public navigating a privacy complaint for the first time, and a compliance officer at a government agency managing a Right to Information decision. Getting the information architecture, language, and user experience right for both, without compromising either, was central to the brief of the project.
Compliance with the Queensland Government Design System (QDS) was also a mandate, one that NOW Digital embraced as a genuine opportunity rather than a constraint. The QDS provided a robust foundation of accessible, standards-aligned components that, far from limiting creative expression, gave the team a consistent and principled framework to build something cohesive and beautifully on-brand.
Delivering a complete website redevelopment, covering content strategy, content migration, UX, design, and a full Squiz platform build, in 12 weeks was an achievement made possible by the quality of collaboration between the NOW Digital team and OIC. Continuous planning, shared ownership of milestones, and a co-design approach meant the project-maintained pace and purpose across every phase.
The solution
NOW Digital approached the OIC engagement as a content-first, audience-first redevelopment. The work began not with visual design, but with a rigorous analysis of how different user groups understood their own needs and how far the existing content architecture fell short of meeting them.
Audience experiences at centre of every decision
The most significant shift in the new OIC website is structural. Content that had been organised around OIC’s internal functions was entirely re-mapped around user tasks and outcomes. Community members now arrive on a site that speaks their language: “How to access information from Queensland government.” “Your privacy rights in Queensland.” “How to make a privacy complaint.” Each pathway is direct, purposeful, and written for comprehension, not compliance.
Content architecture built for people, not processes
Serving two distinct audiences on a single platform is a design problem that cannot be solved by compromise. Rather than splitting the site into two disconnected zones or overwhelming users with a taxonomy that required them to self-classify, the CX strategy established clear, distinct audience entry points and maintained that separation with purpose and consistency throughout the experience.
Built on the Queensland Government design system
OIC’s adoption of the Squiz platform, combined with full alignment to the Queensland Government Design System, established a technically robust foundation that is both compliant and built for longevity. The 12-week delivery timeline reflects what’s possible when collaboration is genuinely built into the process. Continuous planning rhythms, shared milestone ownership, and a co-design philosophy between NOW Digital and OIC’s team meant the project never lost momentum.
What we delivered
From organisation logic to user logic
A complete re-architecture of the site’s content model, replacing internal departmental silos with audience-led pathways. Community members and government agencies now each have a clear, purposeful journey through the site, structured around what they need to do, not how OIC is organised.
12 weeks. Full scope. Delivered together.
An end-to-end redevelopment delivered in 12 weeks through continuous co-design and shared planning. A testament to what a genuinely collaborative client-agency partnership can achieve.
Platform built for independence
Built on the Queensland Government Design System and powered by Squiz, OIC’s content teams now manage and publish with full autonomy, no technical bottlenecks, no publishing delays. A website that can keep pace with an organisation whose work never stands still.
Ready to transform your digital presence?
Whether you’re a government agency navigating the complexity of serving multiple audiences, or an organisation overdue for a content-first digital rethink, NOW Digital has the expertise to make it happen, on time, on brief, and built to last.