Digital Leadership Day Western Australia

Settle in, grab a coffee, and meet a few friendly faces before we begin.

A short welcome, plus a few quick tips to help you connect, share, and get real value from the day. We’ll also run a couple of quick polls to see what everyone’s interested in and what people are working on right now.

A short briefing from the Chair to get everyone aligned, comfortable, and ready for a great day of ideas and connection.

Government 3.0 demands a fundamental shift in how public sector leaders think, operate, and collaborate across systems. That shift in thinking is required from government leaders, reframing digital leadership as an enterprise-wide responsibility, not a technology function. This session will equip you with practical perspectives on leading laterally, aligning policy with delivery, and shaping operating models that enable connected, outcomes-driven government.

• Advance leadership models that enable whole-of-government decision-making
• Transform siloed structures into connected systems that deliver shared outcomes
• Optimise the role of digital, data, and AI as enablers of policy execution
• Bolster accountability and trust while accelerating responsible innovation

Why AI pilots succeed but production fails , and what government needs in governance and infrastructure to close that gap. Atos and Hitachi Vantara share what it actually takes to move from proof-of-concept to trusted, enterprise-scale AI , and ask the harder question: what would need to be true before you'd trust an agent to act on its own?

• Why every AI pilot looks successful, and why that's exactly the problem
• Outcome-first governance: adopting AI at the speed WA government needs without skipping assessment
• What actually needs to be true, in your data, control, and infrastructure - before you'd trust an agent to act on its own
• The recipe for closing that gap: a repeatable operating model for taking AI from pilot to sovereign, production-grade deployment

As geopolitical and economic conditions remain volatile—and technology and community expectations continue to accelerate—public sector leaders are being asked to deliver stable, trusted services while also driving digital change. This panel explores the leadership mindsets and practical approaches that help executives navigate complexity, strengthen capability, and guide high‑performing teams—balancing innovation, risk, and long‑term public value.

• Navigating rapid technological change while ensuring stability of critical government services
• Embracing uncertainty as a constant: shifting from control to adaptability in leadership mindsets
• Building resilient teams that can respond, recover, and thrive amid change
• Balancing short-term pressures with long-term strategic priorities and public value outcomes
• Strengthening cross-agency collaboration to address interconnected challenges effectively

It's time to grab a coffee - connect, recharge and explore our exhibition floor before the next discussions begin!

As AI adoption accelerates, government leaders are looking beyond the hype to understand where real value can be created. This keynote explores how Human + Agent teams can transform government services, improve productivity and support better decision-making, while highlighting the change, governance and people strategies needed to achieve successful and sustainable outcomes.

• Unpacking emerging technology trends, opportunities, and critical considerations headed into 2027
• What are the fundamentals for excellence in digital advancement leading into the next 12-18 months?
• How can we collaborate better as leaders to achieve the aims of the digital strategy?
• How can we influence outcomes through working groups and cabinet processes?
• Building capability and future skills through graduate programs and strategic technology advisers
• The benefits of moving towards more consolidated and centralised operations

Our interactive roundtables give you space to swap notes with peers. Hosted by government and industry leaders, they blend lived experience with practical insights. Bring your biggest challenges, wins, and lessons, and leave with ideas you can apply straight away.

Grab lunch, have a wander, and chat with industry partners and peers about practical ideas you can take back to work. Arguably the most important part of the day!

• Evaluating digital and AI investments through a public value lens: Moving beyond traditional ROI to include service outcomes, risk reduction, equity, and trust
• Building compelling, future-proof business cases: How to quantify benefits, manage uncertainty, and make the case for iterative, platform-based, and AI-enabled initiatives
• Partnering across strategy, tech, and delivery: Strengthening collaboration between finance, digital, and operational leaders to ensure alignment, accountability, and adaptive funding models
• The importance of embedding lifecycle costs, reviews, and maturity models into business cases so solutions remain relevant, scalable, and avoid becoming “cul-de-sacs"

A fireside discussion on how organisations can move from fragmented, technology-led environments to business-aligned, observable digital ecosystems. The session explores how connecting applications, workflows, and data to real business outcomes enables earlier intervention, improved service delivery, and stronger operational performance.​

Moderated by Alyson Pavlinovich, Partner at Fujitsu’s Consulting arm, Uvance Wayfinders, this discussion brings together Ryan Strauch, Strategic Account CTO, Dynatrace, and Samuel Kirubakaran, Senior Managing Consultant at Uvance Wayfinders to share practical insights and real-world perspectives for Western Australian government.  ​

Key takeaways:​

• Why fragmented systems limit visibility into business impact​
• How to shift from reactive IT monitoring to proactive, outcome-led observability​
• Practical steps to align applications, workflows, and accountability to business services​
• How to simplify complex environments and create shared visibility

AI is changing how work gets done — but leading through this shift is as much about people as it is about technology. As public sector teams learn to work alongside AI tools, leaders are being asked to create clarity, confidence, and a sense of purpose amid rapid change. This session unpacks what it takes to build digitally mature organisations — where roles, accountability, and learning keep pace with innovation.

• Designing the AI-enabled workforce: Defining what work stays human-led versus what is supported by technology
• Assessing where technology is providing the most gains and productivity wins
• Moving beyond legacy mindsets to build a curious, adaptive workforce: Preparing for the “Agent Era” and helping teams work with AI
• Leadership for digital maturity — clarifying roles, decisions, and ownership in a tech-driven world
• Balancing automation with purpose: redefining roles and responsibilities
• Building digital and AI fluency across all levels of leadership to make risk understood, not avoided
• Growing and retaining digital capability within the public sector workforce

We’ll pull out highlights from the day, share what’s coming next, and point you to ways to stay connected.