Deep APS governance experience

Availe’s Trust team includes former SES leaders who have designed and run whole‑of‑government ICT strategies, cyber uplift programs and digital governance frameworks across the APS in policy, program delivery and citizen service engagement. This experience means Availe understands Cabinet, budget and assurance processes, and can design AI governance that fits existing committees, risk frameworks and DTA expectations rather than sitting alongside them.​

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Our senior staff have established and led ICT demand management, enterprise architecture and cyber security functions, including developing many years and iterations of ICT Strategies, now AI Strategies. Thais background allows Availe to anchor AI initiatives in clear strategy, accountable funding and measurable outcomes that stand up to central agency scrutiny.

 

Proven AI, data and ethics leadership​

Availe’s data and AI ethics capability is led by practitioners who have served as the Australian Government’s as accountable officers in technology innovation and leadership. They have delivered AI-enabled solutions and intelligence products, all within complex intergovernmental data-sharing arrangements. We bring wisdom for decision makers, leaders and implementers.

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Our work has involved designing and implementing AI strategies that balance rapid innovation with guardrails for safe, ethical and responsible use of generative and predictive AI, including two‑speed adoption models and strong governance controls. Agencies benefit from advisers who have already navigated cross‑jurisdictional data risks, consent, transparency and model validation in high‑stakes public sector environments.

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Trusted to Govern AI: How Availe Helps Boards Make Confident Digital Decisions

The quality of your governance board directly determines the success of major digital and AI initiatives

 

To govern AI‑enabled services confidently, boards now need more than  generic project skills—they need the literacies, behaviours and insight to interrogate new technologies, assurance signals and organisational context.

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Trust is central to this task. When AI is involved, boards are not just overseeing budgets and schedules; they are stewarding systems that can affect eligibility, risk assessments, compliance, public safety and service quality at scale. Trusted AI in government means being able to explain how decisions are made, demonstrate fairness and proportionality, and show that data and models are handled lawfully and ethically. Strong governance builds trust with ministers, central agencies, auditors and, ultimately, the public.

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Availe’s TRUST team is built specifically for this challenge. Our consultants include former APS SES leaders in ICT strategy, cyber security, data, AI ethics and innovation who have designed and run governance, assurance and delivery functions across major Commonwealth portfolios. They understand how Cabinet, central agencies and the DTA’s assurance and reform agenda shape what “good” looks like for digital and AI project boards, including the need for transparency, accountability and demonstrable benefits.

 

Availe can help your agency quickly sharpen the mandate and operating rhythm of its digital and AI project boards, with clear roles and decision paths aligned to DTA guidance. We help you design fit‑for‑purpose board packs, AI and data risk lenses, and engagement approaches that enable chairs and members to ask the right questions and make defensible, well‑documented decisions on AI platforms, data use and complex digital investments, building the trust your stakeholders expect.

 

AI Innovation and change in complex portfolios

Availe’s innovation leaders have built and run award‑winning innovation programs inside Defence and other large portfolios, using tailored methods that respect APS culture, risk appetite and contracting realities. They have connected APS, universities, small innovators and major vendors to turn early ideas into sustainable programs, often in sensitive domains such as protected cloud, logistics and security.

We deliver AI innovation services by combining a structured Innovation Strategy with hands-on experimentation to remove organisational blockers and build confidence using tools like copilot.  The approach starts with understanding the existing culture, architecture, risk appetite and staff experience, then co-designing a practical, written strategy that clearly defines how staff allocate time to innovation, how priorities are set, and how AI is embedded into everyday work.  This creates a transparent framework for engaging with risk, collaboration and continuous learning, so teams can safely explore AI-enabled improvements rather than treating innovation as an ad‑hoc extra. 

Delivery is anchored in a 10–12 week Innovation Challenge that teaches AI innovation skills in an on-the-job way while tackling real organisational problems.  Staff raise ideas against agreed themes, use an idea capture process, and are allocated into supported teams that progress those ideas through innovation phases, applying AI tools, prompts and metrics as they go.  Serata provides an experienced innovation program lead, leadership coaching, all-staff sessions, workshops, hackathons and value stream mapping to create psychological safety, connect the right experts, and ensure AI is used to test assumptions, iterate rapidly and focus on customer and user outcomes. 

To make AI innovation sustainable, Serata emphasises lessons capture, ROI measurement and tailored “choose your own adventure” options that can be deployed as needed.  After the Challenge, benefits, AI ROI and cultural shifts are consolidated into recommendations on strategy implementation, technology uplift and continuous improvement pathways, including reinvesting proven savings back into innovation and AI skills.  Individual components—such as AI training, workshops, Tiger Teams, value stream mapping, hackathons and leadership or team innovation coaching—can also be run in isolation when prerequisites like clear sponsorship and problem definition are met, enabling a scalable, context-sensitive AI innovation service