Not on the Panel
Unpacking what works when building in ███ ██████, GovTech, and the █████████ market.
👋 Welcome
For the four new readers who joined our ranks this week, your timing is impeccable. You’ve arrived just as we dismantle the final and most persistent myth about selling to the Government.
While the rest of the tech world chases fleeting consumer trends, we are focused on the real story: the power, scale, and opportunity hidden within the $2.3 trillion global government market.
Our thesis is built on a radical but obvious insight:
“It’s ridiculous that almost no venture-backed companies work closely with government, given how many billions it spends.” - Trae Stephens, co-founder Anduril
Not on the Panel decodes the jargon, tracks the deals, and provides the map to Australia’s $80B B2G sector. We’re not just writing about it; our B2G angel syndicate is putting capital behind it.
In this week’s edition, we explore:
The tiny Australian enviro-tech startup that just landed a stunningly high-value government contract.
Two US GovTech giants that just raised around $700 million combined.
A little-known Seattle company, with a big payday.
And in our major feature:
We unlock Myth 5: Tired of being locked out by government panels? Here are the keys to the side door.
🤝 If you value our unique perspective, help us grow by sharing it 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 Global GovTech
🇦🇺 Australia
🏙️ Study flags digital gaps in urban planning
Researchers from Melbourne and Sydney universities published a report revealing that digital transformation in Australian urban planning is hampered by weak frameworks and organisational barriers, especially at state and local levels.
🤖 Defence’s AI Centre hunts value in 1 billion documents
Defence's Chief Data Integration Officer revealed that its new AI Centre is working to extract insights from a data repository of one billion unstructured documents. The goal is to uplift AI maturity across the organisation, from corporate functions to military platforms.
Source: ITNews
Defence initiates testing on $30M in anti-drone tech.
The Department of Defence’s $30 million anti-drone program officially kicked off with the publication of an initial ~ $5 million contract. The contracts were signed in late May but first appeared on AusTender in June 2025.
Source: InnovationAus
NSW Police funded for $126M cyber & tech overhaul
The NSW Government announced $125.8 million in the state budget to future-proof the NSW Police Force. The funding includes $24.6 million for cyber threat detection and response and $50M to upgrade critical network devices.
Source: NSW Government
🌐 Global
🇪🇺 EU launches "Defence Readiness Omnibus" to cut red tape
The European Commission unveiled a major legislative package aimed at simplifying rules and speeding up investment in Europe's defence industry. The package responds to slow production and fragmented procurement processes across the bloc.
Source: European Commission
🛒Santa Monica digitises its purchasing processes.
The city of Santa Monica, California, launched a new e-procurement portal (powered by OpenGov) to modernise its procurement process. The goal is to improve efficiency and make it easier for local businesses to become city vendors.
Source: GovTech
🇺🇦 Digital government proves its resilience in wartime.
Ukraine's digital public infrastructure, particularly its "Diia" app, has been a key driver of national resilience during the war. The platform has maintained and even improved the delivery of critical public services, from social payments to business registrations, while minimising corruption.
Source: VoxUkraine
🚚 Applied Intuition raises $600M Series F (valued at $15B)
Applied builds autonomy and simulation software for automakers, defence contractors, and heavy vehicle sectors. This funding round makes it one of the most valuable startups in the sector.
🚀 Mach Industries secures $100M Series B
Mach develops advanced unmanned systems (e.g., high-altitude gliders, loitering munitions) with tight vertical manufacturing integration, challenging slower legacy providers.
💼 This Week in Australian B2G
(Week Ending 20 June)
📄 $910.97m in total reported contract spend
🖥️ $119.74m in software + digital services + I.T
Breakdown by Service:
💾 Software: $18.03m
☁️ SaaS (Cloud): $132km
🛠️ Software maintenance & support: $5.25m
🧱 Platform SaaS: $310k
⚙️ Software/hardware engineering: $332k
💻 I.T $95.30m
Breakdown by Procurement Method
📢 Open Tender: $14.27m
🗃️ Prequalified Tender: $0
📩 Limited Tender: $105.47m
GovTech Flex (Our selection of last week’s contract announcements)
Maltego Technologies, a German open-source intelligence (OSINT) software provider, secured a new $185k contract with the Australian Federal Police, bringing its total federal government contracts to more than $300k. For the most part, it has grown its business in Australia due to an absence of competition for technical reasons.
ArborMeta, an Australian environmental services company, secured a ~ 1-month $401k contract from the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. The contract to create high-fidelity "digital twins" of forests using ground-based LiDAR for carbon accounting was awarded without a competitive tender and justified under the sole-source exemption for an absence of competition for technical reasons.
..and of course, thanks to last week’s faux-rore, let’s actually look at the numbers for Amazon Web Services.
While the Canberra Times was busy wringing its hands and lamenting the lack of local competition and missing contract information, that "little-known American company" was busy banking a staggering $336.35 million in new and renewed contracts across 13 government departments, and that was just in May.
To put that single month in perspective, AWS's entire reported government revenue for all of 2022 was $281.74 million*.
With their total Australian entity contracts for 2025 already hitting $415.79 million, primarily on three-year deals, it seems AWS will need more than a few ink refills for their Mont Blancs.
*For my sanity, I’ve limited data to AWS’s Australian ABN.
🧱Build Better
You can be a Panel Beater.
Winning government contracts isn't about getting on a list. It's about a critical mindset shift and knowing the real rules of the game.
Without a doubt, the biggest misconception about selling to the Australian Government is that you need to be on a panel. We’re told it’s the only way in, a mandatory ticket to a complex and bureaucratic game.
This is a convenient myth. Panels are for significant, predictable procurements. The real game, the fast game where true value is created, is played elsewhere. To win, you do not need to be on a panel; you need to become a "Panel Beater."
To do this requires a fundamental mindset shift. You must stop thinking B2G (Business-to-Government) and start thinking B2B, where your client is a business whose product delivers G2C (Government-to-Citizen) services.
First, we’ll identify your real customer inside this “business,” and then explore the two key pathways to win contracts without a panel.
First, Find the Real Customer (It's Not Who You Think)
The first rule of a Panel Beater is to forget the procurement division and find the true "Policy Owner." This is the Executive Level 2 (EL2), who often holds the title of Director. You cannot sell a solution that is divorced from their policy remit, because in Canberra, policy rules. No policy = No money.
This EL2 holds a unique and often lonely position. While they report directly to a Senior Executive Service (SES) Band 1, they usually solve "hair on fire" problems for the SES Band 2, who sees them as the ultimate Subject Matter Expert.
This makes the EL2 a vital gatekeeper, under immense pressure to find solutions that work. They are purpose-driven, but their biggest frustration is the pointless administrative work that prevents them from delivering on their core mission: the endless preparation for Senate Estimates, the media talking points, and the soul-crushing "Ministerials" that flood in when a service to the public is not working perfectly.
Your job is to be the one who clears their path.
The Two Paths of the Panel Beater
Once you understand the policy they must deliver, there are two primary paths to bypass the panel system.
Path 1: The Pain Relief (The Sub-$10k Deal)
When a service to citizens creates friction, the public becomes displeased, and the administrative burden starts. This presents your opportunity.
While established panel providers may lack a niche solution, you can capitalise on the sub-$10,000 deal—approved on a credit card in days—because your solution directly facilitates the policy outcome and addresses the specific issue causing public complaints.
By providing that immediate fix, you are not merely selling a product; you are returning their time and focus while building trust.
Path 2: The Capability Play (The Limited Tender)
While building trust can lead to a direct invitation for contracts up to $80k, the most powerful pathway is proving a unique capability, and this is your chance to secure a Limited Tender. This mechanism allows the government to come directly to you for significant contracts without a public competition, provided particular conditions exist.
While there are multiple exemptions, if you're a truly innovative upstart start-up, you want the one from the Commonwealth Procurement Rules: Exemption 10.3.d.iii, "Absence of Competition for technical reasons."
This requires a senior public servant to personally sign off and accept the career risk of that decision. Your job is to provide them with such overwhelming and defensible proof that your unique capability is the safest and most logical way to deliver their policy outcome.
The Endgame
Stop trying to get on a list. Find the EL2, understand the G2C service they live and breathe, and prove you are the fastest or only way to guarantee its success.
That is how you beat the panel... until you have enough case studies and proven results to get on that coveted panel yourself and start winning those AWS-level multi-million-dollar contracts.
🗺️ Our Government Market Map
For founders, the journey starts with a simple truth: Government can buy from you.
To prove it, we've built Part 1 of our market map: a live logo board showing the Aussie startups, by category, that are currently engaged in government contracts. Not all are landing huge deals; some are just getting started. But it’s the definitive proof that a pathway exists.
We're already working on successive layers of intelligence, such as adding contract values so you can see the scale. We are also still building a sister map of the overseas competitors you're really up against.
This market deserves sharper focus, better data, and real momentum. We are here for all of it.
📣 Are you a Startup Selling to the Government, or want to?
Each week, over 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 would like to hear from you.
You don't need a press release; leave a comment below or get in touch with us.
We’re always looking for stories that help explain what is actually happening in the B2G and GovTech markets.
📄 Method and Scope
AusTender publishes thousands of contract notices each week across a broad 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 aim 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 the classification. These stories help highlight where momentum exists and where future opportunities may lie.
✍️Meet the Editor
Hi, I'm Mat, a Startup advisor, former bureaucrat, investor, and lifelong procurement tragic.
Throughout my career, I’ve worked on four of the Commonwealth's most significant non-defence contracts. 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.