Key Takeaways: Government Innovation Showcase Western Australia 2026

Welcome and State Scene Setter: Government Spending, Direction and Priorities

Judy Hurditch — Intermedium

• WA agencies are actively testing AI, but most remain at pilot or early-production stage. Leaders need a clear view of organisational readiness before expanding adoption.
• Risk appetite, use-case registers and responsible deployment are becoming executive governance questions rather than technical-team concerns.
• Cross-agency learning and candid discussion of what has and has not worked will be important as agencies move beyond isolated experiments.

Ministerial Address

Yaz Mubarakai — Parliamentary Secretary, speaking in place of Hon Stephen Dawson MLC

• Government innovation should be judged by whether it makes difficult interactions easier and improves outcomes for Western Australians, not by the novelty of the technology.
• The WA Digital Strategy links ServiceWA, digital credentials, responsible information sharing, AI investment and cybersecurity into a common service agenda.
• Digital delivery must expand access without excluding people who need local, telephone or face-to-face assistance.

State Briefing: Digital Strategy 2026–2030 — The Next Era of Opportunity and Priorities for WA

Jonas Petersen — Office of Digital Government, Department of the Premier and Cabinet

• WA is shifting from establishing digital foundations to adoption at scale, with central platforms and shared capabilities intended to reduce fragmented agency experiences.
• State Digital Assets should be built for use across agencies, supported by clear operating models, central oversight and accountable service ownership.
• The 2030 roadmap depends on better information about service volumes, delivery channels, identity checks, ICT costs and measurable benefits.

Powering WA’s Digital Productivity Revolution

Jonas Petersen — Office of Digital Government; Ryan Sengara — Department of Treasury and Finance; Phil Greenhalgh — Department of Transport and Major Infrastructure; facilitated by Judy Hurditch — Intermedium

• Adoption at scale requires more than technology: governance, funding, incentives, delivery capability and cross-agency ownership must support the same direction.
• Staged funding and regular assurance can reduce uncertainty while allowing large programs to progress through evidence-based decision points.
• Benefits should include time, productivity, safety, resilience, accessibility and public trust, not only direct financial savings.

Innovation Spotlight: AI Innovation and Successful Use-Cases in Government

Ashleigh Stokeley — Department of the Premier and Cabinet; Alex Jenkins — WA Data Science Innovation Hub and AI Advisory Board

• Agencies should define the service or operational problem before choosing an AI tool, then test whether automation is appropriate for the consequence and context.
• High-volume, repetitive and well-understood workflows are strong early candidates, while decisions affecting rights, health or wellbeing require greater assurance.
• Human users remain accountable for reviewing AI output, applying professional context and escalating higher-risk applications for independent advice.

A Blueprint for Public Sector AI Adoption

Joel Macfarlane — Datacom

• Moving beyond copilots and grassroots pilots requires an AI charter, governance, role-specific learning, safe experimentation and executive sponsorship.
• Agencies need an inventory of agents, permissions, tools, activity and cost so agent-enabled work can be monitored and controlled.
• AI can change citizen services, software delivery and back-office work, but identity, consent, trusted data and auditable human approvals remain essential.

State Digital Assets: Unpacking Emerging Priorities and Next Steps for Advancement

Alberto Degli Esposti — Office of Digital Government, Department of the Premier and Cabinet

• Common platforms such as WA.gov.au, ServiceWA and the Identity Gateway can reduce duplicated procurement and shorten agency delivery time.
• Central capability does not remove agency accountability: the lead agency still owns the service, business rules and escalated support.
• Reuse must be paired with Digital Assist, telephone support and inclusive identity pathways so central platforms work for people across WA.

From Vision to Impact: Advancing Digital Health Across WA Health Systems

Shaun Walsh — Department of Health; Demogene Smith — South Metropolitan Health Service; Ma'en Abdulla — Child and Adolescent Health Service

• Scaling virtual care requires operating-model change, reliable connectivity and services designed around people rather than hospital buildings.
• Shared records, interoperability and near-real-time data can improve patient flow and access, provided consent, clinical governance and data quality are addressed.
• AI and ambient clinical tools should reduce administrative work while preserving clinical judgement, human oversight and careful change management.

Connected WA: Tackling Connectivity, Capability and Inclusion in Regional Communities

Stephanie Milan — Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development; Sarah McCall — Office of Digital Government, Department of the Premier and Cabinet

• Digital inclusion depends on access, affordability and ability; connectivity alone does not solve barriers involving devices, identity documents or confidence.
• Free indoor community Wi-Fi allows remote residents to use telehealth and sensitive services privately, while stable VoIP contact supports service continuity.
• Infrastructure programs work best when paired with suitable devices, local mentors and trusted community organisations that provide practical support.

The Next Era of Digital Capability in WA

Owen Johnstone — Department of Transport and Major Infrastructure; Alysha Clark — Office of Digital Government, Department of the Premier and Cabinet

• Digital-first should not mean digital-only: app, web, paper, phone and face-to-face pathways remain necessary for different needs and preferences.
• User research, personas, prototyping and direct assistance reveal service problems that internal assumptions and the loudest feedback can miss.
• Trust develops through successful experience, reliable support and continuous improvement, not only through security controls and policy statements.

Technology, Data and AI Integration Track Welcome

Brandon Voight — OpenText and Future Government Institute

• Government 3.0 shifts from paper-based and departmental processes toward connected services organised around people's needs.
• The next stage of AI adoption is repeatable production value, not a larger collection of disconnected pilots and demonstrations.
• Trusted information management and clear human oversight are prerequisites for hyperautomation, personalised communication and agent-based services.

Integrating Responsible and Effective Data Sharing and AI Governance Within WA Public Sector

Keith Moss — Office of Digital Government, Department of the Premier and Cabinet

• Governance enables confident experimentation by setting proportionate safeguards, executive accountability and independent review for higher-risk uses.
• Successful projects start with a measurable problem, reliable data, organisation-wide support and a clear method for assessing community value.
• The AI Centre of Excellence combines funding, technical specialists, university and industry collaboration, and a simpler buying pathway to support coordinated delivery.

Battle-tested Building Blocks: How AI Powering Low Code Delivers Safer, Governable App Development

Martin Cooperwaite — Kiandra IT

• Unconstrained AI coding can produce fast prototypes but also large review burdens, security uncertainty and fatigue before an application reaches production.
• AI-generated applications built from tested low-code components can constrain development to known building blocks while retaining platform controls and audit evidence.
• Agencies should test representative complexity through a limited proof of concept, then validate security, accessibility, maintainability and benefits before scaling.

Privacy, Data and AI Governance, Transparency and Trust

Damian Shepherd — State Records Office; Annelies Moens — Office of the Information Commissioner; Sonya Sherman — Office of Digital Government; Anu Sutharshan — Department of Transport and Major Infrastructure; facilitated by Brandon Voight — OpenText

• Agencies need to know what information they hold, who owns it, where it came from, how it is classified and when it should be disposed of.
• Privacy and responsible information sharing are complementary when purpose, access, provenance, risk and technical safeguards are built into workflows.
• Automated decisions need transparency and traceability; prompts, assessments and supporting information may form part of the official record and audit trail.

From Infrastructure to Intelligence: Measuring the Outcomes That Matter

Kevin Harper — Visa Consulting & Analytics

• Place-based decisions need shared context across movement, spending, transport, planning, safety, environment and community conditions rather than isolated metrics.
• AI can shorten the path from a policy question to evidence, but it should test explanations and scenarios rather than make the policy decision.
• Data clean rooms and aggregated outputs can support cross-organisation insight while preserving control of underlying information and limiting exposure of individual behaviour.

DGov’s Strategic Technology Advisers: Lessons Learnt in Tech, Data and AI Integration Across WA Agencies

Michelle Simpson — Office of Digital Government, Department of the Premier and Cabinet; interviewed by Brandon Voight — OpenText

• Successful ICT programs begin with active executive sponsorship, an empowered senior responsible officer and experienced delivery, architecture and change capability.
• Agencies should connect business and ICT strategies, establish a baseline of the current environment, and fund discovery and delivery in manageable stages.
• AI does not remove project fundamentals: agencies still need clear outcomes, governed data, sound integration, trained users, human review and firm prioritisation.

Executive Panel: Creating a Modern, Relevant and Trustworthy WA Public Service

Sean Halligan — Department of Justice; Rebecca Ostergaard — CSIRO; Damian Shepherd — State Records Office; Shaun Walsh — Department of Health

• Workforce planning should distinguish work that must remain human-led from work that technology can support, with accountability staying with public servants.
• AI capability is not limited to technical skills; leaders and teams need critical thinking, domain knowledge, judgement and confidence to question outputs.
• Adoption will depend on culture, practical learning and workforce redesign that preserves professional expertise while reducing low-value administrative work.