Building an AI-Ready Department in 12 Months

Challenge

The department's work connects and enriches every Australian community, underpins the economy and society, and empowers the nation's regions. It provides policy advice and delivers programs, projects and services in the infrastructure, transport, communications, sport, and the arts sectors, and supports Australian regions and territories.

Like many government organisations, the department faced growing risks from unsupported, ageing infrastructure that did not work with modern tools. At the same time, the department recognised that simply deploying new infrastructure and tools would not be enough to prepare for the future of work with AI. To achieve real benefits, staff would need to be supported to adopt new ways of working.

The department's IT Division partnered closely with LAB³ to deliver the program of work drawing on LAB³'s recent experience in other government agencies, including the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water.

Approach

The delivery approach combined the department's IT Division's delivery framework and organisation change management expertise with LAB³'s public sector knowledge, technical skills, and automation capability.

A capability mapping approach was used to articulate what the future technical environment would look like and what it would mean for staff. The solution introduced a modern Microsoft 365 digital workplace, including Microsoft Teams, Planner, Places, Office 365, SharePoint Online and OneDrive, with Copilot available securely across the organisation up to the PROTECTED level. All devices were upgraded to Windows 11, and Windows 365 cloud desktops replaced Citrix, enabling secure remote work. Enterprise grade security and device management was implemented using Microsoft Intune, Purview, Sentinel and Defender to protect users, devices, and data.

This work represented the first phase of the department's transition to a Zero Trust security model ensuring access was granted only from trusted and compliant devices. Network access was modernised through Microsoft Global Secure Access and Microsoft Entra, enabling secure, identity aware access to Microsoft 365, PaaS, and internet services, and supporting the move away from traditional VPNs and perimeter-based security.

Ensuring AI readiness demanded a strong focus on governance, compliance, security, privacy, and relevant use cases. In collaboration with LAB³, the department built robust frameworks for responsible use of Copilot and Microsoft Purview enabled data protection, compliance management, and oversight of AI activities. Detailed risk assessments, privacy controls, and security testing ensured Copilot configurations met departmental risk standards, and clear guidance on appropriate and responsible use was shared with staff.

Through an iterative development and testing cycle, the department deployed its new environment in just a few months, completing the full program rollout to all staff within a year. User research, early stakeholder engagement, and a strong organisational change management plan made delivering the change within this timeframe possible and supported adoption. User personas were created to identify the opportunities that the new technology presented for staff. Staff received targeted training, participated in hands-on workshops, and were kept informed through regular communications and dedicated support channels and change champions. Ongoing feedback from staff was actively used to enhance and refine the overall user experience. This collaborative, staff-centred approach not only facilitated a timely transition but also fostered staff confidence in embracing new ways of working.

Impact

The department is already seeing the benefits of a modernised digital environment. Staff now have a consistent and intuitive digital workplace, with secure, cloud-based access to collaboration tools. AI-enabled features are helping to reduce administrative effort and improve day-to-day productivity.

For the department, the transformation has reduced technical debt, strengthened security, and streamlined IT operations, creating an IT environment that is prepared for integration of new technologies including broader adoption of AI.