Overview
Why this is urgent: AI is not the outcome, change is.
Across Australia and New Zealand, public sector teams are under pressure to show real progress on AI — not just pilots or exploration anymore as technology is rapidly evolving. The bottleneck isn't the technology anymore. It's adoption, building the trust, getting approvals, and knowing how to move safely in an environment where risk, accountability and public scrutiny are high.
AI is already in play across teams. The real risk isn't whether it gets used — it's whether it's used without clear governance, confidence or consistency.
In Australia, and similarly across New Zealand, AI is already delivering early wins, with 61% of organisations seeing efficiency and productivity gains, yet only 30% are using it to fundamentally transform how they work (Deloitte, State of AI in the Enterprise, 2026).
That's the gap. Starting isn't the problem — making it stick is. And that's not a tech issue. It's the linchpin of change management: getting people on board, shifting behaviour, and embedding new ways of working. It is making people believe that AI and humans can coexist and complement each other.
This course focuses on helping public sector professionals lead and manage change in an AI-enabled environment in a practical way — bringing teams on the journey, reducing resistance, managing risk, and making AI part of how work gets done.
Grounded in public sector realities, the course tackles the people and organisational side of change: workforce anxiety, unclear ownership, slow approvals, and the gap between policy intent and what actually happens on the ground.
Participants will gain practical tools to:
- Translate AI ambition into clear decisions, behaviours and guardrails
- Build staff confidence and drive adoption across teams
- Manage resistance and risk in a way that is defensible, not just fast
- Embed and sustain AI into workflows where it improves service delivery and outcomes
Who Should Attend?
This course is for APS 5–EL 2 professionals (or state, territory and local government equivalents) involved in leading or supporting digital transformation and organisational change across government.
Key participants include: Change & Transformation Officers/Advisors, Digital or Business Transformation Officers, Project & Program Officers/Managers, Business Analysts, Engagement & Communications Officers, and Innovation or Continuous Improvement practitioners.
Ideal for those who: - Lead or support digital change initiatives and interdepartmental projects - Manage stakeholder engagement, resistance, and alignment - Want practical tools to embed change management and deliver lasting reform
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this course, you will be able to:
Lead AI-enabled change with clarity — Understand how AI-driven transformation differs from traditional digital change, and why people, trust, governance and adoption determine whether improvements work.
Turn AI uncertainty into practical readiness — Identify workforce concerns, role impacts, capability gaps and resistance points, then build practical interventions that help people move forward.
Balance innovation with risk and governance — Apply change management techniques that support safe experimentation, clear approvals, accountable decision-making and public sector confidence.
Communicate change in plain language — Develop messaging that explains what is changing, why it matters, what it means for staff, and what they need to do next.
Embed AI into real workflows — Move beyond awareness sessions and pilots by designing adoption plans that connect AI use to daily work, service outcomes and measurable value.
Sustain momentum and public value — Measure adoption, capture feedback, reinforce new behaviours and adjust implementation so AI-enabled change lasts beyond the project cycle.
Online Training
Change Management for AI-Driven Transformation
Session details
This workshop is tailored for leaders in the public sector, providing the tools and strategies needed to lead impactful and sustainable digital transformation. Through highly interactive group activities and discussions, you’ll:
- Define and communicate transformation goals with clarity.
- Address resistance and foster collaboration across teams.
- Identify and resolve critical breakpoints that often derail projects.
- Leverage strategic planning and engagement techniques to drive innovation.
Bring current challenges from your organisation to explore and address during the workshop. This is your opportunity to receive tailored advice and solutions from experts and peers, ensuring you walk away with practical insights to align diverse stakeholders—including senior leadership, staff, and end-users—and deliver real, measurable results.
No previous experience necessary
Key Sessions
• How AI changes decision-making, not just processes
• Workforce anxiety, role uncertainty, trust, risk and capability gaps
• Public sector barriers that slow adoption (approvals, governance, risk culture)
• Applying change frameworks (e.g. ADKAR) to AI-enabled transformation
• Define the outcome, value and vision of AI-enabled change
• Map stakeholders and influencers (who enables vs blocks adoption)
• Align AI initiatives with priorities, skills, governance and resources
• Translate AI strategy into clear team-level actions and consistent direction
• Explain AI in plain language across different audiences
• Communicate governance, risk and safe use clearly
• Build confidence without overselling or creating fear
• Keep messaging consistent across teams and leadership layers
• Diagnose resistance, fear and uncertainty around AI
• Build confidence and capability through practical interventions
• Address risk (privacy, bias, accuracy, accountability, public trust)
• Identify what makes AI use acceptable vs high-risk in a public sector context
• Develop internal champions to support adoption
• Apply AI in fast-moving or sensitive environments
• Make decisions with incomplete information
• Avoid over-reliance, misuse, and blind trust in AI outputs
• Ensure decisions are defensible and aligned with governance expectations
• Move beyond pilots into real workflows and decisions
• Reinforce adoption through leadership, feedback and governance
• Build repeatable practices, templates and guardrails
• Define how success will be measured (adoption, confidence, impact)
- Apply tools to real organisational scenarios
- Identify risks, resistance points and adoption gaps
- Define where AI should and should NOT be used
- Build a clear, defensible 30/60/90-day plan for your team
- Receive facilitator feedback on real challenges
Meet Your Facilitator
Mustafa Ghulam
Transformation and Process Specialist
Mustafa brings over 23 years of experience spanning five countries and diverse industries, with the unique distinction of having worked across all three tiers of public service—federal, state, and local government.
A dual-certified change manager, certified project manager, and Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt from Cardiff University, Mustafa is deeply passionate about driving system and process improvements through effective change management. His expertise is centered on enhancing both employee and customer experiences.
A sought-after conference speaker, Mustafa has shared his insights through case studies and panel discussions at more than 10 national and international events.
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