Agentic AI-Driven Govt Data 2026 is Australia’s leading forum dedicated to the future of government data governance in an AI-enabled world. The event brings together senior public sector leaders, policymakers, technologists, regulators and industry experts to explore how governments can harness AI responsibly while strengthening privacy, ethics, trust and transparency.
As AI rapidly transforms public services, decision-making and citizen engagement, this two-day conference moves beyond theory to focus on practical governance frameworks, real-world use cases and implementation strategies. The agenda addresses the full AI lifecycle — from policy, law and procurement through to delivery, risk management and public value — ensuring agencies are prepared for the 2026–2030 AI and data governance era.
Delegate Registration & Coffee
Welcome by Summit Chair
MAKA KAMA
Chief Digital Officer, The Aquarium Professional Services
• Why AI adoption is now a public trust issue, not just a technology decision
• Key inflection points shaping government data governance over the next five years
• Risks of moving too fast—or too slowly—in AI-enabled public systems
• What “trust-by-design” must look like for government data strategies
• Enable trustworthy and scalable agentic AI with trusted data
PIA ANDREWS
Senior Policy Advisor, Regional Innovation and Digital team (UNDP Bangkok Regional Hub)
• Building trusted, ethical and citizen-centric governance for Agentic AI and government data—enabling innovation, protecting privacy and delivering measurable public value.
• Aligning AI, data, digital and cyber strategies across agencies
• Balancing centralised governance with agency-level innovation
• Embedding ethics, transparency and accountability from day one
• Measuring success beyond efficiency: trust, equity and outcomes
MODERATOR:
KRISTY VAN PUTTEN
Senior Director ICT, Data and Records. Infrastructure Canberts, ACT Government
PANEL MEMBERS:
PIA ANDREWS
Senior Policy Advisor, Regional Innovation and Digital team (UNDP Bangkok Regional Hub)
DANIEL POPOVSKI
Senior Policy & Advocacy Advisor, Governance Institute of Australia Ltd
IBRAHIM EL BADAWI
Founder and CEO, 01Gov
Pia AndrewsSenior Policy Advisor, Regional Innovation and Digital team (UNDP Bangkok Regional Hub)
Kristy Van PuttenSenior Director ICT, Data and Records. Infrastructure Canberts, ACT Government
Ibrahim El BadawiFounder and CEO, 01Gov
Daniel PopovskiSenior Advisor, Policy and Advocacy, Governance Institute of Australia
• Trust Is Earned, Not Engineered: What Citizens Expect from AI-Enabled Government
• What citizens really care about when government uses AI
• Transparency, explainability and meaningful accountability
• Handling public concern, backlash and media scrutiny
• Building long-term confidence through engagement, not spin
10:50 Morning Coffee & Networking
• Defining governance, oversight, and human-in-the-loop controls for autonomous AI agents in public sector data ecosystems
• Ensuring transparency, auditability, and explainability in agentic AI decision-making to strengthen public trust
• Embedding ethical guardrails, risk management, and accountability frameworks for AI-driven government services
• Leveraging agentic AI to enhance data-driven policy, service delivery, and cross-agency collaboration while safeguarding citizen rights
ANDREW SMAILES
Executive Director, Raedan AI
• Applying privacy-by-design across the full AI lifecycle
• Managing sensitive, linked and biometric data responsibly
• Regulatory expectations and lessons from recent failures
• Tools, controls and governance models that actually work in practice
PANEL MEMBERS:
BRUCE INNES
Data Governance, Protection & Privacy, Uniting
RUTH MARSHALL
Director, Data and Innovation, Hocone Pty Ltd
12:30 Lunch Break
• Establishing governance frameworks for ethical secondary use of linked data across agencies and sectors
• Balancing innovation and privacy when leveraging AI on integrated and re-used datasets
• Managing consent, transparency, and accountability in complex data-sharing ecosystems
• Addressing risks of bias, misuse, and re-identification in AI models built on linked and secondary data sources
NIVODITA SHARMA
Director, Data Strategy and Governance, Data Analytics Branch, Policy, Partnerships and Programs Division, ACT Health and Community Services Directorate
• Move beyond ethical principles to practical accountability – Learn seven structured actions that translate values like trust, fairness, and inclusion into measurable practice.
• Make ethical values visible and defensible – Discover how to evidence and clearly explain why your AI system should be considered responsible and trustworthy.
• Strengthen the human capability behind AI governance – Understand the critical human skills required to reflect, justify, and communicate responsible design decisions.
• Prepare before a crisis occurs – Build ethical reflection into project design from the outset to reduce risk, improve system outcomes, and protect organisational reputation.
A/PROF. THERESA ANDERSON
Chief Data & AI Ethicist, Connecting Stones Consulting, NSW Artificial Intelligence Advisory Committee, NSW Department of Customer Service
14:40 Afternoon Tea
• Why ethical frameworks often fail at implementation
• Operationalising ethics through governance, tooling and incentives
• Assigning ownership, accountability and escalation pathways
• Measuring ethical performance in AI-enabled systems
PANEL MEMBERS:
RUBEN ALEXANDER
Director Governance, Quality & Compliance, Chief Data Office (CDO), Transport for NSW
MAHENDRA SAMARAWICKRAMA
Director - AI Safety, Governance, and Policies, Centre for Sustainable AI
RUTH MARSHALL
Director, Data and Innovation, Hocone Pty Ltd
• Identifying gaps in existing AI governance, assurance, and regulatory frameworks that limit public and organisational trust
• Moving beyond compliance checklists to embed ethics, transparency, and accountability by design
• Strengthening validation, auditability, and risk management across the AI lifecycle
• Aligning AI deployment with stakeholder expectations, societal values, and evolving regulatory standards
RUTH MARSHALL
Director, Data and Innovation, Hocone Pty Ltd
• Real-world failure scenarios and governance breakdowns
• Decision-making under pressure: who acts and how
• Incident response, remediation and public communication
• Lessons learned to strengthen future AI governance
MODERATOR:
MAKA KAMA
Chief Digital Officer, The Aquarium Professional Services
Conference Day 1 Wrap Up
17:10- 18:10 1 Hour networking Drinks
Delegate Registration & Coffee
Welcome by Summit Chair
MAKA KAMA
Chief Digital Officer, The Aquarium Professional Services
DELIVERY, CAPABILITY & PUBLIC VALUE
• Moving beyond cost savings to real societal outcomes
• Aligning AI initiatives with policy and citizen priorities
• Avoiding “AI theatre” and low-impact deployments
• Measuring success through trust, fairness and impact
• Building transparency and explainability into service design
• Human oversight and accountability in automated decisions
• Inclusive design for diverse and vulnerable populations
• Continuous feedback loops to maintain public confidence
PANEL MEMBERS:
BRUCE INNES
Data Governance, Protection & Privacy, Uniting
MUSTAFA GHULAM
Senior Manager, Projects & Innovation, Legal & Governance, Transport for NSW
IBRAHIM EL BADAWI
Founder and CEO, 01Gov
• Why poor data quality undermines AI outcomes and trust
• Treating data as critical public infrastructure
• Standards, stewardship and investment priorities
• Linking data quality to national resilience and security
ANDREW SPIEGELMAN
Head of Data & Analytics at Service NSW
10:50 Morning Coffee
• New threat vectors introduced by AI-enabled systems
• Protecting models, data pipelines and decision outputs
• Building resilience into critical government services
• Coordinating cyber, data and AI risk management
• Culture, capability and leadership gaps holding agencies back
• Breaking down silos between policy, data, IT and legal teams
• Incentivising responsible innovation at scale
• What needs to change in the next 12–24 months
12:30 Lunch Break
• Evaluating AI vendors beyond marketing claims
• Avoiding vendor lock-in and black-box solutions
• Embedding ethics, transparency and auditability in contracts
• Procurement models that support innovation and sovereignty
BRUCE INNES
Data Governance, Protection & Privacy, Uniting
• Workforce skills needed for sustainable AI adoption
• Balancing internal capability with external partnerships
• Upskilling executives, policy teams and frontline staff
• Creating an AI-ready culture across government
• Embedding AI into governance frameworks to automate data quality, lineage, and compliance monitoring
• Using AI-driven insights to align data strategy with organisational and regulatory requirements
• Enhancing transparency and trust through explainable AI in data management and decision-making
• Bridging silos by leveraging AI to integrate, standardise, and govern data across complex systems and platforms
KRISTY VAN PUTTEN
Senior Director ICT, Data and Records. Infrastructure Canberts, ACT Government
• Translating policy intent into real-world AI systems
• Governance checkpoints across the delivery lifecycle
• Managing risk, ethics and performance in production
• What “good” looks like in a trusted government AI use case
MAHENDRA SAMARAWICKRAMA
Director - AI Safety, Governance, and Policies, Centre for Sustainable AI
• Key priorities government must focus on over the next five years
• What must be built, reformed or retired
• Aligning national, state and agency-level efforts
• A practical roadmap for trusted, citizen-centric AI
Closing Remarks from the chair
