It’s Not About the Tech, It’s About the People
The Local Government Technology Summit NSW 2025 brought together IT leaders, transformation specialists, and vendors from across Australia to share strategies, challenges, and opportunities shaping the future of local government. While topics like AI, cybersecurity, and digital infrastructure featured heavily, one message came through loud and clear:
“The common thread is people and how they behave.”
Here’s what your council’s IT and digital teams can take away from the discussions.
Technology Alone Isn’t Enough, It’s Behaviour That Drives Success
From Bayside to Canterbury Bankstown, a common insight emerged across multiple panels: the real challenge isn’t the tech itself, it’s how people use it.
In the standout panel on Transforming Citizen Experience, panellists emphasised the opportunity to better align technology initiatives with organisational behaviour.
“True transformation is about more than just ROI.”
“The common thread is people and how they behave”
Councils are seeing time and again that the essential ingredients for unlocking the full potential of their technology investments are ensuring people engage with the technology. To do this councils are embracing facets of culture change, human-centred design, and behavioural alignment.
Cybersecurity: A Shared Opportunity to Build Resilient Councils
As digital threats continue to evolve, cybersecurity is emerging as a strategic area of focus and collaboration for local councils.
At the Cybersecurity Preparedness & Response panel, speakers shared practical insights and experiences in strengthening council defences.
We learned a real-world incident linked to human error, underscoring the importance of vigilance, especially around critical systems like SCADA.
While challenges remain, councils are making steady progress. Key enablers like ongoing education, coordinated defence strategies, and strong leadership support are helping to build a more secure and prepared local government sector.
AI is Unlocking New Possibilities, With Purpose and People at the Centre
Artificial Intelligence emerged as a key theme throughout the day, with a strong focus on how it can be leveraged to enhance service delivery and drive greater efficiency.
For councils, a significant opportunity lies in using AI and other digital tools to better support frontline and outdoor staff, helping them work smarter and more effectively.
It was also acknowledged that many team members are already incorporating AI into their workflows, often organically. The challenge now is to harness that momentum and actively empower teams to explore AI-driven innovation.
The takeaway?
AI has enormous potential when implemented with strong leadership, a clear strategic framework, and a people-first mindset. It’s not a shortcut, it’s a powerful enabler for capacity building, smarter operations, and more responsive community services.
Strong Leadership is Driving Real Change
The opening keynote from Dave Burns, CIO at Sunshine Coast Council, showcased what’s possible with strong, top-down support.
Their people-first approach, on a triangle of transformation people, process, and technology, has saved them over $1M in cybersecurity costs, streamlined subscriptions, and energised staff engagement, all supported by their Mayor who is a driving force in digital transformation.
Sunshine Coast Council has been building digital capabilities from the ground up, and making staff feel part of the transformation journey and this is setting them up for success.
Final Thoughts: Culture Eats Technology for Breakfast
Whether it’s rolling out AI, building cyber resilience, or modernising customer contact centres, the takeaway is clear:
It’s not just what you deploy, it’s how you bring people with you.
Ask anyone in local government – culture can make or break a Council.
Councils that want to succeed are those who invest in culture, change management, and leadership as seriously as they invest in platforms and infrastructure.
If you’d like to explore how WebVine helps councils with people-led digital transformation, from AI agent development to Copilot readiness to intranet strategy, get in touch with our team today.