Not on the Panel
Unpacking what works when building in ███ ██████, GovTech, and the █████████ market.
👋 Welcome
Welcome to issue #7 of Not on the Panel, your unofficial guide to building and scaling in government.
Not on the Panel tracks the weekly activity in Australia's $80 billion business-to-government market. We explain how the system really works, show businesses how to navigate it, who is winning, where the money is moving, and how startups and investors can break into the market.
In this week's edition, we look at:
More Change to the Federal Parliament in the post-election washup.
2 Big raises in the US GovTech market from Adyton and Clarium
No Major feature this week (we are already late), but we have a huge piece next week on the size and makeup of Australian Startups already selling to the Government.
🤝 If you find value in our unique perspective, help us grow by sharing this with your network. Every new subscriber brings us closer to delivering more in-depth coverage of the overlooked and undervalued B2G market.
📰 This Week in Gov
🧠 NSW Government Implements AI Tools for Housing Analytics
The New South Wales Government and UNSW has introduced AI-powered mapping tools to monitor housing development and rental data. This initiative aims to enhance transparency and inform policy decisions on housing supply and affordability.
Source:
🏛️ Leadership Changes in Major Political Parties
Sussan Ley has been elected as the first female leader of the Liberal Party, signalling potential shifts in policy focus, including energy and digital infrastructure development. Larissa Waters has been chosen as the new leader of the Greens, underscoring the party's continued emphasis on environmental and social issues.
ICYMI: Australia’s longest-running political coalition (102 years) has disbanded…but then again, maybe not
🛡️Adyton Secures $11M Series A and Expands U.S. Navy Deployment
Adyton, a defence-focused startup, announced an $11 million Series A funding round led by Venrock, with participation from Khosla Ventures and other investors. The company is expanding the deployment of its Operations Kit within the U.S. Navy. This mobile-first platform digitises and automates Department of Defence operations, enhancing real-time data collection and decision-making capabilities. Founded by U.S. Special Forces veterans, Adyton aims to modernise military operations through secure mobile software solutions.
🏥 Clarium Raises $27M to Enhance AI-Driven Healthcare Supply Chains
Clarium, an AI-powered healthcare supply chain startup, secured $27 million in a Series A funding round led by Northzone, with participation from General Catalyst, Kaiser Permanente Ventures, and others. Clarium's platform, Astra OS, integrates real-time data from hospitals and suppliers to predict disruptions and recommend substitutions, aiming to improve efficiency and reduce costs in hospital supply chains. The company serves major health systems, including Yale New Haven Health, Stanford, and Geisinger.
💼 This Week in B2G
Week 10 (ending 16 May)
📄 $418.72m in total reported contract spend
🖥️ $18.46m in software + digital services
Breakdown by Service:
💾 Software: $15.08m
☁️ SaaS (Cloud): $961k
🛠️ Software maintenance & support: $2.22m
🧱 Platform SaaS: $149k
⚙️ Software/hardware engineering: $49k
Breakdown by Procurement Method
📢 Open Tender: $5.4m
🗃️ Prequalified Tender: $137k
📩 Limited Tender: $12.90m
GovTech Flex
Traceably: a Canberra-based customer experience design company has quietly won its first government contract, slipping in under the AusTender minimum reporting threshold.
TechnologyOne: delivered record results in the first half of FY2025, reporting a post-tax profit of $63 million. According to AusTender data, the company retains approximately $160 million in remaining contract value (from a total of $316 million) across multiple federal government agencies, with agreements extending through to 2028. For FY2024–25, ~$2.5 million in federal contracts have been renewed to date.
Source: AFR
📣 Are you a Startup Selling to the Government, or want to?
Each week, more than 1,500 federal contracts are published on AusTender. We track what we can, but we cannot review every supplier to identify which companies are startups.
If you’re:
Tendering for government work
Already delivering to a government customer
Recently awarded a contract
We want to hear from you.
You don't need a press release; leave a comment below or get in touch with us.
We are always looking for stories that help explain what is actually happening in the B2G and GovTech markets.
📄 Method and Scope
Each week, we track reported contract data from AusTender, the Commonwealth government’s procurement reporting system. Our focus is on contracts classified under software, SaaS, and digital services, as these categories are most relevant to technology founders building with or for government.
AusTender publishes thousands of contract notices each week across a wide range of categories. While we rely on this data as our primary source, we cannot guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of individual listings.
We do not attempt to cover every sector or supplier. However, if a startup is awarded a contract and we can verify it, we will include it, regardless of classification. These stories help surface where momentum exists and where future opportunity may lie.
✍️Meet the Editor
Hi, I'm Mat, a Startup advisor, former bureaucrat, investor, and lifelong procurement tragic.
Across my career, I’ve worked on four of the most significant non-defence contracts in the Commonwealth. I remain frustrated that early-stage companies are often excluded from the government market.
This Substack is part of how I’m building in public. I work with founders and investors who see the $80 billion business-to-government opportunity in Australia.
We also support founders in essential but often overlooked areas, such as governance, risk, and strategy.
If you’re a founder looking to break into government or seeking opportunities to back generational companies in this space, please don't hesitate to reach out. I’m always up for a coffee.