Case studies

Improved accessibility of quality, on-demand language interpretation for NSW Police and emergency services

The Multicultural NSW Transforming Language Services project helped improve language assistance to the communities of NSW when interacting with NSW Police and other emergency services across the state. The project is helping to break down language barriers and confusion when communicating simple, everyday policing activities.

Helping the NSW public sector better reflect the community​

NSW has one of the most culturally diverse populations in the world. Forecasts indicates that by 2031, 33% of NSW will be from a culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) background (ABS Census).

Empowering NSW councils to adopt AI to streamline local development applications

The Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure (DPHI) adopted the Test and Buy Innovation model to adopt an outcome-based procurement approach to uncover artificial intelligence (AI) solutions that could help NSW councils improve workflow efficiency in the local development application (DA) process, particularly during the pre-lodgement phase. This work aims to supplements the Early Adopter Grants program for Councils, to accelerate housing delivery.

Harnessing environmental assessment data for reuse​

BioNet harnesses biodiversity data to improve the state of knowledge, which optimises environmental decision-making in line with the government’s wider nature strategy. From individual plant sightings to detailed scientific surveys, it offers a wealth of knowledge about ecology and threatened species in NSW. Its objective is to harness environmental assessment data for reuse and develop data standards to facilitate the exchange of plant and animal survey and observation data through application programming interfaces (APIs).

Outcome-focused and agile procurement attracts innovation to solve complex digital challenges​

The NSW Government developed an innovation procurement model and piloted centralised support to help agency buying teams adopt innovation-friendly buying practices that:​

• used outcome-focused challenge statements instead of prescriptive specifications​
• engaged suppliers early through collaborative discovery processes​
• made it easier for small and medium enterprises to participate in procurement​

This platform brings together the Environment Protection Authority (EPA)'s main regulatory tools into one platform.

It includes a customer portal, an officer portal, tools for inspections in the field, and public registers. The goal is to improve customer service, speed up processing, and support better decision-making by making data easier to access and use.

Simplifying and streamlining school visitor check-ins

The School Visitor Check-in is a digital sign-in system for visitors and contractors at every NSW public school. Visitors and contractors check-in to schools using their ServiceNSW app or through the School Concierge app. This makes check-ins simple and fast and increases every school’s privacy and security practices. The system was developed by the NSW Department of Education in partnership with Service NSW.

A cloud-based platform to store and integrate data on national park management including weed control actions, threatened species management, fire, heritage assets and more.​

The NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) recognises that that data and digital capabilities are not just tools – they are critical enablers of how we deliver services. High-quality data and modern digital technologies are essential to how the NPWS protects our natural environment by improving decision-making, targeting investment, and strengthening our accountability to the communities and landscapes we serve.​

A pilot to build awareness and user capability of the new Spatial Digital Twin Explorer

A capability uplift pilot was conducted between October 2024 and April 2025 and attended by diverse data users from across NSW. The aim of the pilot was to enable NSW Government employees and members of the public to leverage advanced spatial (location-based) data visualisation and tools, facilitating better data discovery, sharing and utilisation, which will lead to more informed planning and decision-making.

Helping people build and buy digital products and services that everyone can use

The Accessibility and Inclusivity Toolkit can be used by agencies and communities to make sure digital products and services meet accessibility guidelines, so everyone can access them. This promotes inclusivity, equal access to information and digital opportunities.

Making digital connectivity throughout the state world-leading, affordable and resilient

The NSW Digital Connectivity Index was launched by NSW Telco Authority, with support from the Spatial Services team in the Department of Customer Service. The Digital Connectivity Index is an interactive map measuring digital connectivity quality through access, affordability, and demographics, using 400 million data points. It helps government agencies and communities make informed decisions, prioritise digital inclusion, and guide infrastructure investments.​

Breaking down barriers to digital inclusion

Launched in May 2025, this strategy aims to ensure everyone can use digital technology safely and affordably. It also keeps offline options for essential services. The strategy was co-designed by feedback from digitally excluded communities, the public, community groups and industry.

Supporting older people in NSW with access to low-cost or free digital literacy training

This NSW Government initiative, in partnership with Telstra, provides low cost or free training sessions for older people to build confidence using online services. The low-cost or free digital literacy training at beginner, intermediate and advanced levels includes the use of computers, tablets, smartphones and online applications such as email, social media and cyber safety. Digital inclusion helps seniors to be active and independent members of their immediate and broader communities.

Trialling a purpose-built artificial intelligence (AI) tool for educational use in schools

The NSW Department of Education has developed NSWEduChat, a purpose-built generative AI tool for educational use in schools. NSWEduChat is currently the safest and most cost-effective generative AI tool available for our schools and staff. NSWEduChat is based in our own cloud environment in Sydney, Australia. Data is secure, caters to the NSW educational context and aligns to the NSW AI Assessment Framework.

Land iQ is designed to improve the planning system by helping NSW government agencies make faster, smarter decisions about the use of land

It’s a living platform designed to continue to evolve and adapt to the future needs of users, leveraging new digital resources as they become available. It’s available to NSW Government agencies while we continue to refine the tool and develop license options to make it available to other levels of government, councils, Local Aboriginal Land Councils, researchers and industry.