In social and community services, fragmented information can slow decisions, limit visibility and make it harder to provide the right support at the right time. As agencies work with families and communities facing complex needs, better use of data and technology is becoming a critical part of improving outcomes. The current agenda for the Government Innovation Showcase South Australia places this challenge directly on the program through the session “AI, Data and Tech in Social and Community Services.”
A practical conversation for agencies working with complex needs
This panel brings together leaders from child protection, human services and health to examine how agencies are using information, data and technology to strengthen support for vulnerable cohorts.
The published session features:
- Nikunj Mandlas, CIO, Department for Child Protection
- Shikha Sharma, CIO, Department of Human Services
- Kirsty Delguste, Executive Director, Disability and Specialised Services, Department of Human Services
- Abdel-rahman Bassal, Executive Director, Research, Innovation and Digital Health, Women’s and Children’s Health Network.
The session is framed around a practical set of questions that many agencies are already grappling with:
- how information about vulnerable families is managed
- where AI and data can support better early intervention and risk assessment
- how to improve cross-agency data sharing
- why ethical, transparent and responsible approaches matter in social care
- how digital and information capability can be lifted across frontline teams.
View the event agenda: https://publicsectornetwork.com/events/government-innovation-week-south-australia-adelaide-2026/government-innovation-showcase-south-australia-adelaide-2026/agenda/
Better data is not just a systems issue
What makes this topic so important is that it goes beyond technology for technology’s sake. In this context, better data-sharing and stronger visibility can help agencies improve oversight, strengthen coordination and respond more effectively to complex needs. The event agenda explicitly links this discussion to early intervention, risk assessment, disability access and inclusion, and improving the way information is managed across agencies.
This also fits the wider positioning of the Government Innovation Showcase South Australia, which is built around how agencies are modernising systems, embedding AI and leveraging data to drive smarter, faster and more resilient government operations.
Going deeper on the day
For attendees who want to unpack the topic further, the roundtable program offers two especially relevant follow-on discussions:
- Predictive Government: Using Data to Anticipate, Not Just React
- Mastering Responsible AI – Privacy, Data Governance, Transparency and Trust.
Together, these sessions reinforce a simple but important point: better support often depends on better information, and better information depends on governance, visibility and trust.
Why attend
For anyone working across human services, child protection, disability, health, data, digital or service reform, this is a valuable session on how better data can lead to better support and better public sector decision-making. To hear this conversation in full, join the Government Innovation Showcase South Australia on Wednesday 10 June 2026 at Adelaide Oval.
Help your peers
Share what you've learned with fellow public servants
