Australia’s public sector is at a critical point in its digital evolution.
Every day, government agencies, from health and human services to emergency management and national security, are generating enormous quantities of data. This data is often spread across cloud platforms, on-prem systems, and specialised environments like satellites or frontline response centers.
The challenge is that as this mountain of data grows, access to it is bottlenecking. Whether it is unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), generating 70 terabytes in a day or a state health department managing millions of disparate patient records, the sheer volume and variety of information make it nearly impossible to find, let alone use, efficiently.
As agencies work toward the 2030 Data and Digital Government Strategy and the 2030 Cyber Security Strategy, they are balancing two competing priorities: connecting more data across government to improve citizen outcomes, while also protecting it and keeping it within national control.
For years, the answer to disconnected systems was to centralise everything, building larger platforms to bring data into one place. But that approach is starting to fall short – it also forced teams to copy or duplicate data, leading to issues with data consistency and increased costs for storage – it also forced teams to copy or duplicate data, leading to issues with data consistency and increased costs for storage. Data is still spread across agencies, integration takes too long, and large, central systems can be slow to adapt when needs change.
To move forward, we must rethink the very architecture of Australian governance, shifting away from centralised control toward a distributed data stewardship model, effectively, a data mesh for the sovereign state.
The spectrum of sovereign choice
Sovereignty is no longer just about physical residency, it is about ensuring the Australian government retains absolute legal and operational authority over its data assets, regardless of where they are processed. And true data sovereignty requires an architecture that matches the deployment model to the specific mission, whether that is self-managed and air-gapped for high-tier national security, or PaaS and SaaS for rapid innovation at lower classifications.
The strategic value of this choice is simple: it helps bridge the security vs. utility paradox. Traditionally, securing data meant locking it in a dark silo where it became unsearchable and disconnected.
By adopting a distributed data mesh, agencies can keep their most sensitive data within their own sovereign boundaries while still connecting it to a unified data access layer. This ensures that a national security analyst or policy officer can query insights across different security domains or departments without the raw data ever crossing a jurisdictional or classification boundary.
Ultimately, this flexibility is what makes sovereign intelligence possible. It ensures the Australian government is never forced to choose between the agility of the modern cloud and the uncompromising security of our national borders.
Read also: Future-proofing public services with responsible AI
Using data without compromising on security or jurisdictional integrity
One of the primary challenges is no longer just sharing information, it is understanding and operationalising it. In complex government environments, data resides across multiple security classifications and departmental mandates.
When we try to force this data into a single repository, we create a single point of failure. Instead of moving data to a central location, agencies can use search technology to query information wherever it resides, regardless of its security classification. This approach reduces the need for complex, multi-year integration projects and allows teams to get value from data much faster, enabling greater efficiency for public sector missions.
Feeding the AI machine without losing control
The urgency to adopt generative AI is adding fuel to this fire as the public sector looks to implement AI into its systems. For AI tools to work accurately, they require access to the full breadth of an agency’s structured and unstructured data. Without this holistic context, AI-generated insights risk being incomplete or containing hallucinations.
A distributed architecture is the only way to feed production-ready AI while maintaining the strict governance that regulators and the public expect. By utilising a unified data access layer, agencies can ingest and process real-time data at the source, allowing AI to power high-impact services, such as predictive emergency response, automated compliance auditing, and personalised citizen support, without risking the movement of sensitive information out of its secure environment.
The path forward for the APS
The alignment of the APS Reform agenda with these 2030 strategies creates a rare window of opportunity. The architectural decisions made today will shape Australian government outcomes for a decade, requiring a shift from the passive collection of intelligence to its active, scaled operation.
This is where technologies like search and real-time data platforms play an important role. By connecting data across systems without forcing it into a single repository, agencies can improve visibility, respond faster to risks, and make better decisions, while still maintaining control over sensitive information.
Ultimately, this shift is about building the agility and resilience required for modern governance, ensuring we can deliver faster, more effective outcomes for the community without compromising on security or sovereignty.
Anna Mascarello
Anna Mascarello is the Regional Vice President, Public Sector & Education ANZ at Elastic and a recognised data pioneer with more than 20 years of professional experience.
Her career has been shaped by a commitment to data-driven innovation and to fostering inclusive cultures where individuals from all backgrounds can thrive in the technology sector.
In her role at Elastic, Anna leads strategic initiatives and key business functions to support government and education organisations across Australia, helping them harness the power of data to deliver more secure, effective and user-centric digital experiences.
Previously, she held senior roles at Adobe and Novell, where she championed data literacy to enable organisations to uncover insights faster, monitor infrastructure for cyber risks, and protect highly targeted systems and data.
Anna is a strong advocate for women in technology and believes the true value of technology lies not only in its capabilities, but in the meaningful impact it can have on people and organisational culture.
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