Government Innovation Showcase Federal 2026

Setting the tone for the priorities and thorniest challenges facing Digital Services, Customer Experience, and Service Design professionals. Explore how to deliver intuitive, inclusive and citizen-centred services through human-centred design, digital tools, responsible AI and automation.

Setting the tone for the priorities and thorniest challenges facing Technology, Data, ICT, Architecture and Transformation professionals. Learn how to modernise systems, embed AI, and leverage data to drive smarter, faster and more resilient government operations.

Setting the tone for the priorities and thorniest challenges facing COOs, CFOs, HR, Workforce, Operations and functional leaders. Discover how AI can streamline processes, augment decision-making, and unlock workforce capacity while driving both public sector and economic productivity.

Setting the tone for the future of digital government in the ACT, exploring how leaders can build a connected, inclusive and intelligent capital city. Examine how digital strategy, trusted data, responsible AI and innovative partnerships are shaping the next generation of government services and public value.

Ben Satchwell, Head of Capabilities, Acorn. How the agenda was built and what the afternoon holds, then a live poll on the biggest L&D challenge for 2026 to 2030.

As technology reshapes expectations and capabilities, public sector leaders have an opportunity to rethink how services are delivered, accessed and experienced. This session explores the technologies, operating models and leadership decisions that will define the next era of public service.

• Future customer expectations and changing engagement preferences
• The role of AI, digital identity and intelligent services in the next generation of government
• Harnessing data to anticipate needs and improve service outcomes
• Creating more connected, personalised and accessible experiences
• Bridging the gap between today's legacy systems and tomorrow's service models
• Defining a long-term vision for public service delivery

• Embedding governance into the AI lifecycle, from idea to deployment and designing adaptive governance models that keep pace with emerging technology
• Managing risk without slowing down innovation and service improvement
• Adhering to guardrails, guidance and frameworks - applying guidance from the Australian Government AI Ethics Principles in operational settings
• How can we embed responsible and transparent AI governance in public sector workflows?
• Respecting and protecting privacy rights - what needs to be done to ensure we retain public trust?

• Unlocking workforce capacity and efficiency gains with emerging technology - How can we best enable our human workforce to focus on higher-value, strategic work, and what opportunities is this unlocking in delivering better services?
• Strategizing the next-gen workforce: Which tasks to keep with people, and which to give to AI
• Balancing automation with human judgment, accountability and governance
• How AI is being applied in a supportive role to staff for enhanced operational efficiency and service delivery
• Modernising legacy processes through intelligent automation

• ACT Digital Strategy priorities and progress
• Creating seamless, community-centred services
• Building trust through data, accessibility and digital inclusion
• The role of government in shaping Canberra’s digital future
• Working cross-jurisdictionally to deliver exemplary digital services for people and business

Introducing APS CoLearn, a generative AI proof of concept acting as a virtual learning coach across discovery, plan generation, career coaching and skills intelligence. What worked, what did not, and what surprised them.

Most agencies aren't short of AI ideas. They're short of a way to run them at scale without surrendering the predictability, auditability and cost control that public service demands. This session unpacks why so many promising pilots stall at that gap, what separates the agencies clearing it from those that don't, and why the architecture beneath the AI matters more than the model on top.

• A simple test for which tasks return time and which just shift the work from drafting to checking
• Where the saved hour actually goes when nobody reassigns it, and why the verification load lands on whoever clears the work
• What to decide before the tool arrives, so the time you recover doesn't get absorbed by volume within a fortnight

A 20 hour project management course rebuilt as a modular journey, using nothing beyond M365 and SharePoint. Covers what changed, what the data showed about nudge messaging over time, and what did not work. Show and tell, so a screen is essential.

• Using data responsibly to tailor services to individual needs and circumstances
• Moving beyond one-size-fits-all processes to adaptive service experiences
• Ensuring personalisation is transparent, ethical and privacy-preserving
• Removing unnecessary steps that slow down or frustrate citizens
• Redesigning services based on real user journeys and feedback
• Using digital tools to simplify complex processes and reduce errors

• Identifying the structural, cultural and policy barriers slowing AI adoption across the APS
• Exploring how agencies can balance governance, ethics and assurance requirements with the need for faster experimentation and delivery at scale
• Addressing workforce capability, change management and leadership challenges in embedding AI into everyday public sector operations
• Unpacking practical approaches from early adopters on what is working to move from pilots to enterprise-wide AI deployment
• The criticality of good data governance when it comes to realising the full potential of AI

• Building a future-ready workforce: Unpacking essentials for a skilled and adaptable workforce
• Managing workforce concerns and building confidence in AI adoption
• Equipping employees with the skills needed to work alongside AI
• AI co-design: Embedding staff perspectives into the design and deployment of AI solutions
• Culture and change management in the AI era
• Defining the optimal balance between human expertise and machine-enabled tasks in the modern workforce

• Leading digital transformation across government
• Using data and AI to improve policy, planning and service delivery
• Building public trust through ethical governance and transparency
• Developing future-ready capability and operating models
• Collaborating across government to accelerate innovation

Moving an enterprise AI learning programme from pilot to scale across a globally dispersed workforce in weeks, and how staff at very different levels of AI readiness were supported. Show and tell.

The next generation of government services will be shaped by AI, intelligent automation and new approaches to citizen engagement. This session examines how Government can accelerate transformation, challenge traditional service models and leverage emerging technologies to improve outcomes, accessibility and trust.

• Which emerging technologies have the greatest potential to transform customer experience?
• How can AI and digital technologies be applied most effectively to leapfrog the customer experience?
• Are we using the full potential of the tools we currently have?
• Building trust through consistent, reliable and respectful service experiences
• Designing holistic services and linking services together to reflect real-world complexity

Successful AI, digital and data initiatives begin with a clear understanding of business goals. This session examines how organisations can translate strategic priorities into technology investments, ensuring IT platforms, data capabilities and operating models are equipped to meet future demands.

To be discussed:

• Starting with business outcomes and designing technology strategies to support them
• Understanding the infrastructure and platform requirements for AI-enabled organisations
• Strengthening collaboration between business leaders and technology teams
• Securing investment through outcome-focused business cases
• Balancing innovation with operational realities and legacy technology
• Ensuring technology investments deliver measurable value and improved customer outcomes

The future of work is not about enabling people to do their best work with the support of technology. This session examines how public sector organisations are using AI to augment workforce capability, reduce administrative burden and create more meaningful, high-value work while maintaining trust, transparency and human judgment.

Discussion topics:

• Real-world AI use cases improving productivity across federal government operations and service delivery
• Moving from experimentation to scalable, embedded AI solutions across agencies
• Measuring impact: productivity gains, workforce outcomes and service improvements
• Balancing efficiency gains with the need for fairness, data privacy, and explainability in decision automation

Explore how the City & Environment Directorate is building AI capability across government, from preparing the workforce for adoption through to embedding AI into everyday operations. This conversation will unpack practical approaches, lessons learned and opportunities for government organisations looking to responsibly harness AI to improve efficiency, decision-making and public outcomes.

Poll results read back against the morning sessions and key takeaways from the track.