Not on the Panel
Unpacking what works when building in ███ ██████, GovTech, and the █████████ market.
👋 Welcome
Welcome to issue #5 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.
📰 This Week in Gov
🏥 Labor Government's Healthcare and Energy Initiatives
The re-elected Labor government announced an $8.5 billion commitment to boost bulk billing, expand urgent care and telehealth clinics, and invest in renewable energy, including $2.3 billion in solar battery subsidies.
TL;DR:
$2.3B investment in solar battery subsidies to promote renewable energy.
Renewed initiatives reflect a focus on healthcare and sustainable energy.
🏗️ Labor Secures Future Made in Australia
Labor’s re-election guarantees at least six more years of the $22.7 billion Future Made in Australia agenda, supporting clean energy tech, critical minerals, and onshore manufacturing.
TL;DR:
$22.7B strategy locked in through 2030
Targets clean energy, critical minerals, and local industry building
🌍 World Bank's Upcoming GovTech and Public Sector Innovation Forum
The World Bank is set to host the second iteration of the GovTech and Public Sector Innovation Global Forum on May 27-28, 2025, bringing together global leaders to discuss leveraging emerging technologies to enhance public sector efficiency and accountability.
🇳🇿 New Zealand Government Data Summit 2025
The New Zealand Government Data Summit returns with a focus on building trusted public data systems. Speakers include Hon Judith Collins KC and leaders from ATO, IRD, and Fire & Emergency NZ.
🇦🇺Tech in Gov — August 12–13, Canberra
The full speaker lineup for Tech in Gov was announced. Tech in Gove brings together over 2,000 attendees and 150 speakers to explore AI, cybersecurity, and digital service delivery across the Australian public sector.
💼 This Week in B2G
Week 18 (ending 2 May)
📄 $738.52 In total, reported contract spend
🖥️ $60.10M in software + digital services
Breakdown by Service:
💾 Software: $26.85M
☁️ SaaS (Cloud): $4.12M
🛠️ Software maintenance & support: $28.43M
🧱 Platform SaaS: $103K
⚙️ Software/hardware engineering: $1.12M
Breakdown by Procurement Method
📢 Open Tender — $5.75M
🗃️ Prequalified Tender — $0.0M
📩 Limited Tender — $54.34M
GovTech Flex
Fivecast continues to grow its federal government contracts, securing a $409K license renewal with the Department of Defence until the end of the financial year. Bringing their total to almost $23M (this is higher than the $9.6 M we reported last week, due to inconsistencies in the AusTender dataset)
Rocket Software secured a new $800K contract with Defence under exemption 10.3 (d). (iii) 🖥️🔒 “absence of competition for technical reasons”. This latest contract is recorded against their Australian entity, which has recorded $19.4m of federal contracts; this is on top of the ~$150M registered against their American entity.
🧱Build Better
The flu got us this week, so no long-form Build Better today. We're coughing, not typing, but we’ll be back next week, better and bolder
📣 Know something we don’t? Let’s fix that.
Each week, 1,500+ federal contracts hit AusTender. We track what we can, but we don’t catch everything.
If you’re a startup tendering, winning, or already delivering for government, we want to hear from you.
You don’t need a press release. Just drop us a note or tag yourself below, we’re always looking for real stories that show how B2G actually works on the ground.
✍️Meet the Editor
Hi, I'm Mat, a Startup advisor, former bureaucrat, investor, and lifelong procurement tragic.
Across my career, I’ve worked on some of the most significant (multi-billion) non-defence contracts in the Commonwealth. I’m still frustrated that early-stage companies are largely shut out of the government market. This Substack is part of how I’m building in public.
I work with founders and investors chasing Australia’s $80B B2G market.
If you’re building for government, let’s talk.
📄 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.
Each week, AusTender publishes thousands of contract notices 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.