Digital NSW 2025: Turning policy priorities into outcomes through technology

Turning Vision Into Delivery: How Monash Health Completed a 12-Month Digital Transformation for 25,000 Staff

Public sector transformation is often described in big ambitions and long roadmaps — but for Monash Health, the journey from outdated systems to a unified HR and payroll platform happened in just 12 months. In a post-event conversation, SAP’s Susan Lamb and Monash Health’s Head of Payroll Services, Cherie O’Connell, shared how clarity, collaboration, and executive alignment shaped one of Victoria’s most significant digital upgrades.

“You can’t transform what you don’t understand.” — Susan Lamb, SAP

Susan opened the session with a reminder that the biggest transformation barriers are rarely technical — they’re structural and organisational. Understanding what you have, mapping your pain points, and aligning your leaders must come before buying any technology.

We delivered a project for 25,000 people, across 13 sites, in under a year.” — Cherie O’Connell, Monash Health

Cherie walked the audience through Monash Health’s transformation journey — a project that replaced a tangle of legacy systems, some more than 20 years old, with a single end-to-end SuccessFactors solution.

She highlighted the importance of trust, communication, and cross-agency collaboration: “We didn’t do this alone. We leaned on other agencies, shared learnings, and created a network of support. That collaboration made the impossible possible.”

What made this transformation work? 

• A clear, non-negotiable deadline driven by organisational need

• Strong executive sponsorship across the health service

• Open collaboration with other Victorian agencies who had done similar upgrades

• Early identification of risks, gaps, and architectural constraints

• A project culture built around transparency and shared accountability

Susan and Cherie noted that transformation at this scale is never “easy,” but the right foundations remove friction.

Takeaways for Government Leaders:

1. Architecture comes first- Before transformation, map your landscape. Know what’s broken, what’s duplicated, and what needs to be retired.

2. Leadership alignment is non-negotiable- Projects collapse when executives aren’t unified in purpose and prioritisation.

3. Collaboration accelerates delivery- Sharing learnings across agencies reduces risk, improves clarity, and speeds up decision making.

4. Technology is only the enabler; People, processes, and governance determine success.

5. Speed is achievable — with discipline- Monash Health’s delivery proves that large-scale transformation doesn’t need multi-year cycles if the foundations are strong.