Be it local, state or federal, when it comes to technology spending, government in Australia is big business.

That spending is spread across a multitude of activities, from investments to keep citizen’s data safe from criminals, to programs to streamline the machinery of government, through to a true renaissance in the way government services are provided.

While it may lack the spending power of other government peers, local government is proving to be fertile territory for innovation as cash-strapped councils seek to reduce costs while improving services.

This is leading some to take a pioneering role in the use of AI, as part of a broader push to treat ratepayers as customers and engage them in the way they prefer, rather than the manner previously dictated.

At the state level, digital transformation is the catch cry of the day, as departments and agencies seek to slew off costly and cumbersome legacy systems in pursuit of cost savings and service improvements.

The lessons taught by NSW’s Department of Customer Service have spread quickly, resulting in a proliferation of renovation and replacement programs that are delivering new service options for citizens.

Critically, many of them are choosing to build that future in the cloud, as they chase new capabilities with low-code integrations that are (hopefully) more cost-effective than legacy endeavours.

And while Australia’s federal government may not be as prone to the grand gestures on technology spending seen in some other markets (most commonly regarding AI, and most notably regarding the US), agencies large and small are continuing to build out new capabilities.

What is certain for all however is that in the digital era, citizens today are not prepared to accept the services delivered to earlier generations, and that providing a better government service takes a lot more than just a slick new website.

Public Sector Tech 2025 was created using insights, research, and opinion from industry analysts, and end-user CIO case studies, to provide a compelling overview of the key trends, challenges and threats in public sector for IT in the last 12 months.  

Hear from local, state and federal government tech leaders including:

• Dale Drechsler, team leader for digital services, City of West Torrens
• Sonjoy Ghosh, team leader for business solutions, Adelaide City Council
• Danielle Cattalini, manager for customer, communications, and engagement, City of South Perth
• Dr Shikha Sharma, chief digital officer, Department of Human Services SA
• Sandra Slater, CIO, Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR) QLD
• David Dans, CIO, Department of Education WA
• John Simonides, acting director of IT operations and communications, Fire & Rescue NSW
• Dean Lacheca, VP and research analyst, Gartner
• Mark Pearce, CTO, ASIC