Tue 04 Aug 2026
View event detailsRegistration, Coffee & Hellos
9:30 AM - 10:00 AM (30 mins)
Settle in, grab a coffee, and meet a few friendly faces before we begin.
Opening from Public Sector Network
10:00 AM - 10:05 AM (5 mins)
Welcome & How to Make the Most of Today
10:05 AM - 10:15 AM (10 mins)
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.
Local Government 3.0
10:15 AM - 10:35 AM (20 mins)
Leading Through Growth: Shaping Liverpool’s Future as a Global City
10:35 AM - 10:55 AM (20 mins)
Liverpool is experiencing rapid transformation driven by major infrastructure, population growth, and the development of the Western Sydney Airport and health and education precinct. This keynote will explore how councils can lead confidently through large-scale change while continuing to deliver strong outcomes for their communities.
- How councils can balance rapid growth, infrastructure delivery, and community expectations.
- Strengthening collaboration across government, industry, and community stakeholders to support city development.
- Embedding sustainability and circular economy principles into long-term planning.
Turning AI Strategy into Safe, Scalable Implementation
10:55 AM - 11:15 AM (20 mins)
AI and Digital Transformation: Opportunities and Challenges
11:15 AM - 11:45 AM (30 mins)
- How AI and digital tools can enhance operational efficiency, creativity, and service delivery in councils.
- The impact of technological innovation on workforce culture, engagement, and upskilling.
- Key risks and strategies for managing cybersecurity, compliance, and change during digital transformation.
Lunch: Wander, Discover, Connect
11:45 AM - 12:30 PM (45 mins)
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!
Interactive Roundtable Discussions
12:30 PM - 1:30 PM (60 mins)
Our interactive roundtables give you space to swap notes with peers. Hosted by 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.
Roundtable 1: Presented By DataScape
12:30 PM - 1:30 PM (60 mins)
Roundtable 2: Unlocking Capacity & Revenue: Modernising the Community Experience of Public Assets
12:30 PM - 1:30 PM (60 mins)
For government leaders, "doing more with less" means rethinking traditional community touchpoints. Public venue management is ripe for modernisation, historically bogged down by manual approvals and complex bond reconciliations. This session explores how forward-thinking councils leverage automation to turn public space booking into a seamless digital asset, eliminating up to 80% of admin time, boosting revenue streams, and freeing staff for high-value community projects.
Roundtable 3: Presented By MTX
12:30 PM - 1:30 PM (60 mins)
Roundtable 4: Is Your Council Putting the Community at Risk? The Hidden Cost of Not Knowing Who You're Hiring
12:30 PM - 1:30 PM (60 mins)
Local governments employ people who work directly with vulnerable residents, manage sensitive data, and represent the community's trust. But in an era of AI-generated documents and faster hiring cycles, the gap between who someone claims to be and who they actually are is growing, and the consequences of getting it wrong fall squarely on the public.
This roundtable examines the evolving threat landscape, the audit and liability exposure councils face when screening fails, and how risk leaders are elevating hiring integrity from admin task to enterprise risk priority. Walk away with practical strategies to protect your community, your staff, and your council's reputation.
Roundtable 5: Presented By SmartSheet
12:30 PM - 1:30 PM (60 mins)
Building Financially Sustainable Digital Ecosystems
1:30 PM - 1:50 PM (20 mins)
Future-Ready Workforce Models: Addressing Skills Gaps in ICT and Corporate Functions
1:50 PM - 2:10 PM (20 mins)
Redesigning roles, addressing skills gaps and leading organisational change as AI and automation reshape council operations.
Leading Under Pressure: Navigating the Challenges of Modern Local Government
2:10 PM - 2:45 PM (35 mins)
- Managing budget constraints, cost shifting and resource pressures while continuing to deliver essential services and long-term community outcomes
- Balancing rising community expectations with operational realities, navigating reform and exploring opportunities for collaboration across councils and government
- How to lift cyber security from an ICT issue to a whole-of-council governance priority, in line with NSW regulatory requirements and growing public scrutiny
- Strengthening governance, transparency and emerging AI oversight to maintain community trust while supporting innovation and organisational performance
Closing Remarks: What We’re Taking with Us
2:45 PM - 2:50 PM (5 mins)
We’ll pull out a few highlights from the day, share what’s coming next, and point you to ways to stay connected.
Afternoon Tea
2:50 PM - 3:20 PM (30 mins)
