Digital Leadership Day South Australia 2026

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

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.

• Moving beyond legacy mindsets to build a curious, adaptive workforce
• Preparing for the “Agent Era”: helping teams work with AI, not against it
• 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

Darian Shephard-Bayly

Deputy Chief Executive, Department for Child Protection

Ruth Ambler

Deputy Chief Executive, Department of Human Services

David Morris

Executive Director, SA Virtual Care Service, Department for Health and Wellbeing

Katherine Hawkins

Executive Director, Child & Family Support, Department of Human Services

In 2026, “digital government” means more than online forms and portals. AI and automation are reshaping how policies are delivered, how services operate, and how public value is created. This discussion explores how agencies can redesign processes to make them smarter, faster, and more human — using technology to enhance, not replace, the people and principles behind public service.

• Moving beyond digitisation — redesigning end-to-end journeys for truly digital government
• Building AI and automation into workflows while keeping transparency and accountability front and centre
• Rethinking governance: how to balance control, ethics, and delivery speed in an AI-enabled public sector
• Mapping the new mix of people and machines — defining roles, decisions, and oversight in hybrid workflows
• Automating with purpose: choosing where AI adds real public value without eroding trust or capability

Graeme Jackson

Executive Director, People and Corporate Services, Department for Infrastructure and Transport

Linda Abrams-South

Executive Director, Corporate Services, Courts Administration Authority

Robyn Lindsay

Deputy Chief Executive, Clinical System Support & Improvement, Department for Health & Wellbeing

• Shifting from transactional to strategic procurement: How procurement leaders can enable agile, AI-ready service delivery through outcome-based contracts and flexible supplier engagement
• Embedding trust, transparency, and ethics in tech sourcing: Practical approaches to ensure AI systems meet public expectations around bias, safety, and explainability
• Navigating complexity and compliance: Balancing probity, risk, and innovation in procurement frameworks built for a fast-evolving technology landscape

These interactive roundtables are your chance to go beyond theory and explore hands-on solutions and common shared experiences for today’s toughest challenges in technology, data, and public service delivery. Roll up your sleeves with leaders and peers to tackle the “how to” of digital transformation, AI, and data-driven innovation. Collaborate, share ideas, and walk away with practical strategies and actionable next steps to implement in your agency. Co-facilitated by Government and Industry leaders, this is a chance for you to hear from your peers at the table, share your own experiences and unpack practical tools to leverage back in your office.

• 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

As AI reshapes how governments plan, deliver, and make decisions, leaders must think beyond pilots and tools — and focus on strategy, structure, and stewardship. This discussion explores how executives can align AI with long-term reform goals, modernise technology foundations, and make confident choices amid uncertainty. The aim: to build an AI-ready public sector that’s secure, scalable, and guided by public value.

• Embedding AI into enterprise strategy and aligning adoption with whole-of-government priorities
• Leading through uncertainty — balancing innovation, reliability, and trust in public service delivery
• Project prioritisation and portfolio decision-making — investing where AI can deliver the greatest value and impact
• Modernising tech foundations — building modular, interoperable architectures that enable responsible AI experimentation and scaling
• Balancing performance, cost, privacy and ethics when developing secure data and infrastructure to power AI-driven services