Branch manager of Digital Strategy, Policy and Engagement at the Digital Transformation Agency, Lauren Mills, will be among the speakers at the Artificial Intelligence in Government conference from 24 – 25 June. Photo: Supplied.
MasterCraft Series – Working with a Ministerial Office
Date: 24 June
Time: 1 pm – 2 pm
Duration: One one-hour face-to-screen session
Location: Virtual
Email: https://apslearn.apsacademy.gov.au/user_login
Parliamentary Workplace Support Service Advisory Board member Liz Dowd shares insights into what day-to-day life is like working with a minister. What is the role of a Department Liaison Officer and how do you communicate with them? And what happens when things don’t go to plan?
Ms Dowd was appointed as a member of the PWSS Advisory Board on 15 April, 2024, for a three-year term. She has worked for three Federal Cabinet ministers, including two as Chief of Staff, providing complex policy and political advice on the Members of Parliament staff employment framework and parliamentary business resources, education, vocational training, emergency services and other social services.
She has also been a senior public servant who has worked across several social service portfolios, including employment, education and health, for more than 20 years.
Ms Dowd has a strong understanding of parliamentary and government processes, ministerial functions, stakeholder engagement and policy development. She is using this to help community organisations form good relationships with government and effectively navigate the political environment.
This event is suitable for all staff.
Artificial Intelligence in Government
Date: 24 – 25 June
Time: 9 am – 4:50 pm
Location: Ngunnawal Country | QT Hotel Canberra & Online
Email: [email protected]
This conference focuses on balancing assurance and innovation to transform government services and decision-making.
Navigate the risks and seize the opportunities to unlock public sector potential with AI. As governments rapidly adopt AI, ensuring its responsible and effective use is paramount. To support AI adoption and ensure public trust, governments must implement strong frameworks for transparent, ethical and unbiased AI, reducing risks while enhancing decision-making, services, and operations for all.
Following the June 2024 National AI Assurance Framework agreement, and the Digital Transformation Agency’s piloting of its own APS-specific framework, the Artificial Intelligence in Government conference provides a crucial platform to explore how robust assurance frameworks – aligned with national and state initiatives – can rebuild trust and guide the safe, ethical and effective use of AI.
Bringing together federal and state leaders, the conference focuses on aligning assurance frameworks, improving AI literacy, ensuring reliable decisions, and integrating risk assessments without stifling innovation. Attendees will gain policy knowledge, learn about best practices for risk mitigation, and discover how to drive ethical, transparent AI innovation to enhance government operations.
One of the speakers will be branch manager of Digital Strategy, Policy and Engagement at the DTA, Lauren Mills, who is responsible for leading the development and implementation of whole-of-APS digital strategies and policies to support digital transformation.
Focused on improving the delivery of government services, providing positive experiences, and delivering value for Australian citizens, Lauren is passionate about driving change within the public sector to achieve this.
Leadership Strategies Series 2025: Online
When: 24 – 25 June; 29 – 30 July; 9 – 10 September
Where: Online (via Teams)
Cost: Ticket prices vary; find out more at Kim Vella Leadership
Join respected executive leadership coach Dr Kim Vella, with the support of esteemed industry professionals, for a new leadership skills pathway: The Leadership Strategies Series.
This workshop series gives you access to 32-plus hours of online collaborative learning, including:
- Cutting-edge leadership strategies
- Coaching from PS experts and industry professionals
- Advanced psychometric tools
- Personalised assessments
- Individualised feedback
- Tailored action plans.
This series is delivered in two stages: Essentials level and Enhanced level. Each level comprises two full-day workshops, with a six-week break in between to apply your new skills. You’ll also have the opportunity to join a facilitated peer mentoring session during this time to discuss challenges and insights.
Government Communication Skills for Impact & Influence Toolkit
Date: 25 – 26 June
Time: 9 am – 4:30 pm
Location: Online
Email: [email protected]
Overview
Master the essentials of impactful written and verbal communication.
- Learn to communicate with an audience-centred approach.
- Overcome verbal and non-verbal barriers to landing your message.
- Understand influence vs persuasion and how to use both.
- Apply techniques to manage emotions and mindset in challenging situations.
Trainer Giles Watson is a coach and consultant specialising in customer experience, sales, and business management for legal and professional practices.
With tailored workshops, coaching and consultancy, Giles helps organisations leverage customer experience as a competitive advantage. Through CX Training, he focuses on building high-trust relationships, improving sales skills, and enhancing communication.
With years of experience across the UK and Australia, Giles is committed to helping businesses and practices achieve long-term success through effective client-focused strategies.
MasterCraft Series – How can evidence-based practice help managers and leaders become more effective?
Date: 25 June
Time: 3 pm – 4 pm
Duration: One-hour face-to-screen session
Location: Virtual
Email: https://apslearn.apsacademy.gov.au/user_login
Evidence-based practice has been around for many decades in fields such as medicine, education, policing and policy-making. It is a technique that helps practitioners become more effective by making better-informed decisions.
It involves using a combination of critical thinking, a structured approach and the best available evidence from multiple sources to identify the problem and choose an intervention or solution that is most likely to work. More recently, evidence-based practice has been applied to other areas such as leadership and management.
This event will consider how evidence-based practice principles can be applied equally well to management, the barriers, and how to quickly get started with evidence-based management in your role and with your teams. The particular importance of evidence-based management in the public sector will also be considered.
This event is suitable for all staff.
MasterCraft Series – Celebrating APS data specialists: engaging expertise for better policy and evaluation
Date: 26 June
Time: 4 pm – 5 pm
Duration: One-hour face-to-screen session
Location: Virtual
Email: https://apslearn.apsacademy.gov.au/user_login
To become a generalist or specialist? That is the question many public servants ask at least once during their careers. In this webinar, hear from public servants who have successfully leveraged their deep expertise for great policy design, delivery, and evaluation. We will explore the value that deep expertise and multidisciplinary teams bring to the policy process.
There are two presenters: Dr David Gruen and Professor Brett Sutton. Dr Gruen was appointed Australian Statistician on 11 December, 2019. As Agency Head of the Australian Bureau of Statistics, he is accountable for the functions and operations of the bureau. He holds PhD degrees in physiology from Cambridge University, England, and in economics from the Australian National University.
Dr Gruen was also made an Officer of the Order of Australia (General Division) in 2022 for distinguished service to public administration, economic research, business, and education.
Professor Sutton is a director at CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency. He leads the Health & Biosecurity Research Unit, comprising more than 350 researchers and support staff in digital health, human health and plant, animal and environmental biosecurity.
A qualified public health physician, he brings extensive experience and clinical expertise in public health and communicable diseases, developed through roles in government, emergency medicine, and international fieldwork.
With specialist knowledge in tropical medicine and infectious diseases, Professor Sutton has worked extensively in lower- and middle-income countries and complex humanitarian settings, including in Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Timor-Leste and Fiji.
This event is suitable for all staff.
Embracing Neurodiversity: A Workshop for Managers & Leaders
Date: 1 – 3 July
Time: 9 am – 4:30 pm
Location: In person, 1 July ACT | 3 July VIC
Email: [email protected]
Learn how to create environments for neurodiversity to thrive. The number of people who identify as neurodiverse or have been diagnosed as neurodivergent is rapidly increasing, and it’s likely there are neurodivergent people on your team.
So why is an awareness of neurodiversity and the ability to lead neuro-inclusive teams so important for managers and leaders? Because with it, managers and people leaders are able to tap into individual team members’ strengths and preferences so that they feel safe and included and are able to perform at their best. And when everyone is able to perform at their best, you have a high-performing team.
Join us for an essential full-day workshop that will build your understanding of the unique strengths of neurodiversity, how to harness them and how to lead a psychologically safe team. Discover how embracing different cognitive styles can drive innovation, boost productivity, foster inclusivity and promote retention in the workplace.
Using PowerBI to communicate effectively with data
Date: 8 July – 14 August
Time: 9:30 am – 12:30 pm
Location: Online
Email: [email protected]
Gain direct hands-on experience building a fully interactive PowerBI report, using real-world data. Increasingly in today’s business environment, we are all required to understand, analyse and present data. Tools such as Excel and PowerPoint are fine when it comes to basic data presentations, but with greater data challenges we need more serious tools.
This course is designed to introduce both business and technical audiences to the basics of Microsoft’s PowerBI application. It is intentionally designed to be interactive and hands-on using real-world examples, supported by clear and easy-to-understand frameworks and tips and tricks, which will elevate your practical skills for producing meaningful analysis of data.
Facilitator Paul Hodge will provide expert guidance through the maze of challenges facing us when asked to analyse ever-increasing amounts of data being produced for audiences around the world. You will be taken on an engaging journey through entertaining and informative hands-on examples, and gain insights for the real-world application for delivering compelling PowerBI reports that will help answer your critical business questions.
Paul has a passion for exploring the intersection between data, design and storytelling. By elevating everyone’s potential to engage, inform and leverage design principles, he believes that we all have the ability to inspire people and share our insights in ways that can improve the world and make it a more interesting place in which to live.
Shaping the Future of Aged Care
Date: 9 – 10 July
Time: 9 am – 5 pm
Location: Sofitel Sydney Wentworth & Online | Gadigal Land
Email: [email protected]
This summit centres on transitioning into a new era of aged care and navigating aged-care reform with clarity and confidence. Aged care in Australia is undergoing its most significant transformation in decades. The landmark new Aged Care Act and accompanying reforms, initially anticipated for July, are now legislated to come into effect on 1 November.
This revised timeline provides the sector with crucial additional months to prepare for what will be a fundamentally different landscape. Understandably, many have critical questions about how to best utilise this extended period to navigate the upcoming transition successfully, ensuring financial sustainability, workforce stability and high-quality care.
Occurring in the lead-up to these pivotal changes, this summit is your essential forum to deeply understand the forthcoming framework, strategise for its implementation, and explore what the future holds for the sector.
Bringing together government leaders, peak bodies, aged-care providers and participant advocates, this two-day event will provide strategic insights, expert guidance and practical tools to help you prepare for new compliance obligations, enhance service delivery models and future-proof your organisation.
Don’t miss this opportunity to gain clarity, share experiences and build partnerships to shape the future of aged care.
Excel Foundations for Government
Date: 23 – 24 July
Time: 9 am – 1 pm
Location: Online
Email: c[email protected]
Strengthen foundational Excel skills and elevate proficiency to drive greater efficiency and impact. Create clean, precise and comprehensive Excel spreadsheets using good design and documentation principles.
Levelling up your Excel expertise is vital for anyone working with data in government, where precision, efficiency, and clear communication are essential.
If the points below describe how you wish to use Excel, this course is tailor-made for you:
- I feel comfortable with data entry but want to use Excel to analyse and manage data more effectively.
- I desire to be more proficient with tables, charts and graphs.
- I understand basic formulas but want to be more nuanced and intuitive when applying them.
- I’d like to fill in gaps in my knowledge and be more confident overall.
- I’d like to be more efficient with Excel and understand how it can help save time, make informed decisions, and visualise data.
This practical course will expand your knowledge and help you create more efficient, accurate and well-developed workbooks. Facilitator Paul Harris has been providing training services since 1997 and systems development consulting services since 2004.
While conducting all levels of MS Office training for Access, Excel, PowerPoint and Word, and VBA training for Access, Excel and Word, his specialties have been Access and Excel. Paul has delivered training to many organisations from a vast array of business sectors.
His style of explaining the how and why of things, rather than just following steps to achieve a result, provides a great depth of understanding for training attendees.
