Not on the Panel
Unpacking what works when building in ███ ██████, GovTech, and the █████████ market.
👋 Welcome
Welcome to issue #4 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 $80B 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 than $400 million in new federal spending, including $4 million in software contracts.
Fivecast’s growing pipeline now reaches $23 million in federal opportunities.
A significant new business-to-government initiative emerging from the Department of Health.
And in our major feature:
💰Australia has committed $15 billion to digital transformation. But where is the opportunity for Australian startups?
📰 This Week in Gov
🏛️ Digital Transformation Agency Releases Major Digital Projects Report 2025
The Digital Transformation Agency announced over 110 active digital projects across Australian Government agencies. This includes citizen services, cybersecurity upgrades and back-end platform modernisation. (👇more on this below👇).
TL;DR:
DTA confirmed 110+ digital projects live across federal government
Focus areas include citizen services, cybersecurity, platform upgrades
Source: Digital Transformation Agency
🏥 Department of Health and Aged Care expands B2G integration
The Department of Health has launched its Business-to-Government (B2G) Gateway, enabling aged care providers to send compliance data via APIs instead of manual uploads.
TL;DR:
Health has launched a B2G Gateway for aged care providers
Health are trying to build better connections between aged care businesses and government systems to improve information sharing.
Source: Department of Health and Aged Care
🧾Australian Taxation Office drives Peppol e-Invoicing rollout
The Australain Tax Office expanded Peppol e-Invoicing adoption across government procurement to reduce payment times and enforce data standards.
TL;DR:
ATO is mandating Peppol e-Invoicing for suppliers
The Australian government is leaning into its commitment to pay service providers on time.
Source: Australian Taxation Office
🌍 GovTech Conclave 2025 opening in Abu Dhabi
GovTech Conclave will gather global digital ministers and tech CEOs in Abu Ghabi this week to focus on AI governance, blockchain trust frameworks, and next-gen citizen service models.
📈The World Economic Forum identifies $10 trillion GovTech opportunity
The World Economic Forum says GovTech platforms could unlock $10 trillion in economic value by 2034 by digitising citizen services and public trust systems.
TL;DR:
The World Economic Forum projects $10 trillion GovTech-driven growth by 2034
Big gains in citizen services, regulatory tech, public data infrastructure
Startups who can building trusted tech will dominate the next wave.
Source: World Economic Forum
💼 This Week in B2G
Week 17 (ending 25 April)
📄 $442.31m in total reported contract spend
🖥️ $4.8m in software + digital services
Breakdown by Service:
💾 Software: $2.93m
☁️ SaaS (Cloud): $568k
🛠️ Software maintenance & support: $1.13m
🧱 Platform SaaS: $0k
⚙️ Software/hardware engineering: $343k
Breakdown by Procurement Method
📢 Open Tender — $929k
🗃️ Prequalified Tender — $0.0m
📩 Limited Tender — $3.87m
GovTech Flex
Lighting AI (formally Grid AI) secured its first, 1 year, $56k contract with the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water for their AI development platform.
Fivecast secured its first $175k contract with the Attorney-General’s Department; since 2018, Fivecast has grown its federal government exposure from $62k to just over $23m, including keystone contracts with both the Department of Home Affairs and Services Australia.
🧱Build Better
Australia's Digital Future: Builders Wanted, but Not Yet Welcomed
The Australian Government’s 2025 Major Digital Projects Report presents itself as a landmark plan for the nation's digital future. It lists over one hundred projects tied to critical areas such as healthcare, defence, cybersecurity, agriculture, and trade. It sets out more than $15B in projected investment. It paints a picture of a government preparing to lead through a decisive program of digital transformation.
At first glance, it is an impressive catalogue of ambition. It suggests that Australia understands the urgency of digitisation and is prepared to act at scale.
Yet, as with so many government reports, the closer one reads, the more the claims of transformation fall apart.
For Australian startups, specialist technology companies, and the new generation of digital service providers the Report offers ambition without access. It catalogues billions of dollars in investment but provides no visible pathways for emerging companies to engage.
It would be remiss to simply bemoan the use of major delivery partners. Large programs require scale, governance, compliance, and coordination. It is entirely understandable that the government would seek experienced organisations to manage national initiatives. However, it is a missed opportunity to broaden the field of delivery. The message, whether intended or not, is clear: transformation will be delivered by those already seated, with no new chairs being offered.
The contradiction with the government's Buy Australian Plan is impossible to ignore.
The Buy Australian Plan was announced with the promise that the government would deliberately favour Australian providers, build sovereign capability, and unlock opportunities for local innovators. Yet here, in one of the country's most significant and critical investment programs, there is no visible linkage between the projects described and any competitive or transparent procurement process. Without basic transparency, it is impossible to know whether Australian companies are genuinely being supported or whether billions in digital investment are quietly flowing offshore.
The 2025 Major Digital Projects Report details major areas of digital investment, outlining billions of dollars committed across critical national systems. According to the Report:
Over $600 million is allocated toward expanding secure digital identity services across federal, state, and local levels.
But what about FrankieOne, an Australian company already delivering world-leading identity verification and compliance infrastructure to banks, fintechs, and enterprises globally?More than $2.5 billion is spread across projects aiming to modernise data sharing, platform integration, and agency interoperability.
But what about Aiculus, an Australian cybersecurity specialist building machine-learning tools to secure APIs and protect sensitive data in exactly the ways modern government services require?At least $1.1 billion is dedicated to upgrading agriculture technology, biosecurity systems, and trade logistics platforms.
But what about AgriDigital, a proven Australian innovator already digitising agricultural supply chains and global export processes?
To be certain, I searched AusTender for any linked contracts or tender opportunities involving these companies. Despite the billions of dollars committed to the national projects outlined above, there is no record of any engagement with FrankieOne, Aiculus, or AgriDigital. There are no contracts, no procurement notices, nothing.
In a system that claims to champion local innovation, the absence of even basic pathways for Australian companies to compete is not an unfortunate oversight. It is a structural failure hidden beneath the language of progress. Of course, I am happy to stand corrected if evidence of their engagement emerges. But as it stands today, there is only silence where opportunity was promised.
Australia does not lack the builders it needs. It lacks the systems that trust them early, engage them seriously, and fund them competitively.
The 2025 Major Digital Projects Report outlines an extraordinary future. But unless the government is willing to open up its processes, publish its opportunities, and truly engage with Australian builders, it will not be a future built by Australians.
📣 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 do not need a press release; just leave a comment below or get in touch.
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’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 who see the $80 billion business-to-government opportunity in Australia.
We also support founders with the essential but often overlooked areas like governance, risk, and strategy.
If you’re a founder trying to break into government or an investor who sees the chance to back generational companies in this space, feel free to reach out. I’m always up for a coffee.