Stronger Together: Reflections from the 2025 Technology for Social Justice Conference

What an unforgettable week.

The 21st Technology for Social Justice Conference brought together hundreds of passionate changemakers from across the not-for-profit, government, philanthropy, and tech sectors — all united by one goal: using technology to create meaningful, lasting social impact.

Across three transformative days, attendees explored everything from digital inclusion to AI, cyber security to sector sustainability, data strategy to funding reform. It was a week filled with deep insight, practical learning, bold thinking and collective action.

Here are just a few powerful moments from across the event:

Technology is a Superpower – But People Power the Mission

Opening keynote speaker Marnie Webb, CEO of TechSoup (USA), reminded us that amid all the technological change and disruption, the core of our sector remains the same: people power the mission. “It is our collective responsibility to ensure that civil society organisations stay strong, resilient and confident. We, as a group, are resilient. We’re figuring out how to work in our communities and providing support even under pressure,” she shared. 

Her call to action? Build resilience by leveraging technology that enables stronger capabilities and collaborating with diverse sets of groups. And better protect ourselves, like verifying accuracy, confirming permissions and having strong cyber security. Technology isn’t just about new tools – it’s about building bridges that allow us to meet our missions faster, better and more sustainably.

Civil Society Must Be at the Centre of Digital Transformation

“We must not allow technology to disconnect us. It should free us to care for one another.”

Dr Goldie reflected on the impact of algorithmic decision-making, including the devastating effects of Robodebt, and urged the sector to advocate for ethical, community-led tech systems. She challenged the audience to imagine technology that allows us to spend more time with people, not less, and to ensure those most affected by systems are at the table shaping them.

“We have to stand up and assert the powerful role of civil society, and that includes people leading communities and organisations … community needs to be at the forefront, via skills development, education and training,” she said.

 

The Digital Divide is a National Crisis

Doug Taylor, CEO of The Smith Family, shared “Digital poverty is real, and it’s growing,” amplifying the need for using tech to trial better outcomes, referring to the organisation piloting AI-enabled digital tutors – not as a silver bullet, but as a scalable tool to close learning gaps and support overburdened educators. His message was clear: we cannot solve educational inequality without solving digital inequality first.

Trust and Innovation Must Go Hand in Hand

Sue Woodward AM, Commissioner of the ACNC, brought a regulator’s perspective to the innovation conversation. Rather than blocking progress, she sees regulation as a tool to build trust and public confidence in the sector.

“You know your communities better than anyone. Our job is to support, not stifle. We’re keen to understand the pressures on good governance and work with our government colleagues, signposting to sector-based resources to support organisations,” Woodward shared.

The ACNC has recommended that charities peruse resources on AI, cyber, and to stay connected via their Charity Chat Podcast:

• Guidance on Charities and AI – which explores opportunities and risks.
• Governance Toolkit: Cyber Security – helping charities reduce cyberattack risk.
• Charity Chat podcast with Jacqui Barr, Australian Cyber Security Centre.
• Charity Chat podcast with Carly Kind, Privacy Commissioner.

 

GenAI Use is Rising – But Governance is Missing

Brett Szmajda, General Manager of the National AI Centre, shared data from Infoxchange’s Digital Technology in the Not-for-Profit Sector Report that over 70% of NFPs are already using generative AI tools, yet just 11% have policies or governance structures in place.

“NFPs are operating on string and duct tape. They need tools, standards and human-centred design to use AI safely.” He shared details of the Voluntary AI Standards framework of best practices, delivering steps to best practice guardrails and delivering these standards in a human-centric manner.

“It’s important that we work together. NFPs are more likely to band together to use that power than many other industries wouldn’t do. Banding together means helping greater numbers of people, using purpose as a superpower.”

Cyber Security Is Everyone’s Responsibility

Ailie Houlihan, Strategic Advisory Consultant at CyberCX, delivered a wake-up call on the rising threats in cybersecurity. From targeted phishing scams to the dark web’s commodification of stolen identities, the risks are urgent and growing.

“The average cost of your personal data on the dark web is just $1–$10,” Ailie shared. She talked about the urgent need for staff and volunteer education from NFPs of every size. Multi-factor authentication, strong password protocols, phishing awareness training, and investment in systems that can stop threats before they reach inboxes.

Funding for Impact: Let’s Talk About Overheads

In a high-impact session on funding technology and infrastructure, speakers challenged outdated notions of “admin costs.” Liz Yeo of the Paul Ramsay Foundation shared how their team focuses on funding core costs and builds impact through long-term systems change.

“We invest, we build, and we build evidence” – sharing that the organisation recognises that overheads and technology costs are critical to making progress happen.

Host David Crosbie, CEO of the Community Council for Australia shared that the sector’s strong suite is its passion and purpose, but questioned whether purpose can be a weakness. “We need to add in a little bit more selfishness” to see resilience and growth, he shared. “Purpose is powerful – but we need to fund the capabilities that amplify purpose too.”

Dr Alberto Furlan of the Ian Potter Foundation shared the importance of paying to put the lights on as an essential part of funding frontline services. Peter Walton, CEO of the Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation, emphasised that many organisations only have around 2 months of unrestricted funding, which only allows a small ability to withstand shocks and limits their ability to invest.

Digital Champions Redefining Inclusion

Few moments moved the audience like hearing from Alanna Julian, a participant of the Digital Champions Program who has an intellectual disability. She spoke to how digital technology has helped bring opportunity, agency and belonging, sharing the story of meeting a friend in a safe online platform from Canada, which inspired her to launch a BeFriends digital community.

Alanna’s goal is to run public speaking workshops eventually.

“I want to help other people become confident public speakers – like me.”

Building a Digital World We Want to Live In

CEO of the Inclusive Design Collective, Manisha Amin, shared that digital inclusion is not just building technology to bridge the divide, but thinking about how we can build new technology to do better next time, creating a step change.

“We need to know how the models work for us to make decisions, not have them make decisions for us” she shared. “The way we work in our society is hierarchical, linear and self-controlled. We need to look at tech development in different ways because technology is not linear, its ambiguous.”

Good Things Foundation CEO Jess Wilson reflected on people using AI to teach themselves to learn things like email, and gaining digital literacy in the process.

“It’s more about technology being a tool to get to where people want to be, and saying, “I want to get to that place, what tools can I use to get there?” She shared optimism about future skills programs, but noted they need to be targeted towards the people who really need them.

Data for Good: Turning Insight into Action

 

Data was another recurring theme throughout the conference — not just as a tool for reporting, but also as a driver of better services and smarter decisions.

Dr Kristen Moeller-Saxone, Data Capability Lead at Infoxchange and lead of the Data Catalyst Network, spoke about the role of the sector in leading the way in using data that exists for social good. Head of Advocacy and Research Anne Hampshire of the Smith Family shared that “data is messy and involves collaboration.”

She acknowledged that teams must take time to support their team members who move at different paces of data stewardship and advocacy, and celebrated that when asked permission to use data, over 90% of parents in the Learning for Life program gave their explicit permission of their children’s data use knowing the intention to use it for social good.

CEO of Youth Projects, Trent Miller and Steeve Merchand, Research Fellow of the Melbourne Institute, shared the use case of the Data Catalyst Network project that examined youth employment programs across a dataset from the Department of Workplace. Steeve reminded the audience that getting permission to use government data wasn't quick or easy. Anne echoed this, sharing though that the effort has amplified their ability to create impact, and that the “more difficult foundational work is worth it … when used well, it changes everything.”

Real Use Cases: AI Innovation in Action

Throughout the conference, we saw real examples of how AI and automation are transforming service delivery on a panel moderated by James Happell, Senior NFP Digital Consultant at Infoxchange.

• Lenka Brazda, Innovative Project Lead at Wombat Housing, shared Wombat Housing’s “WomBot,” which has freed up time for staff. The bot also answers after-hours client queries and has improved accessibility of real-time support. Lenka shared that 84% of users prefer interacting with WomBot first.
• Head of Technology of Cool.org, Aiden Rigby, shared how their AI learning platform helps overstretched teachers customise lesson plans using AI, without losing their own expertise and voice. He shared that 76% of educators found their workload unmanageable. Cool.org wanted to give them a tool to craft their specialty and take it to the classroom.
• Linda Boettcher, Process Improvement Manager at Clean Up Australia, shared how the team has integrated AI to analyse the contents of tens of thousands of clean-up events, leading to smarter campaigns and advocacy.

Lenka acknowledged the necessity of “taming the AI that loves to be creative.” She’s built into her processes time to come back to give it more tuning and filters so it won’t respond outside of Wombot Housing’s knowledge and expertise.

Their shared advice? Start small. Be intentional. Build on what works.

“There’s no better time than now to get started,” Aiden shared. “Find the software to suit the need. You can integrate other things later, but just get started first.”

What Bold Vision Are You Setting?

KB, Board Member at Infoxchange and Chief Technology and Innovation Officer at EY, shared a keynote asking people to reimagine the challenge of AI adoption.

“How do we build confidence? One is we have the address the fear of blurred reality, synthetic media, images and audio, of deep fakes … I look forward to seeing formalised regulation to help us to remove this. AI is not a tech-led thing, it’s a human-led thing and starts with having an AI-first mindset,” she shared.

“What bold mindset are you building in your organisation to let AI have a multiplier effect?” She amplified the need to help teams develop the habits and skills to accelerate impact and be stewards in protecting themselves from risk.

Corporates Discuss Big Tech and Big Impact

On a panel with leads of the Telstra Foundation, Cisco and Microsoft, David Spriggs shared, “... we need to work better across the NFP sector, with government, with academics, and philanthropic foundations and with the tech sector and corporate partners.”

Tim Allen shared his experience of working with those within corporations, rethinking the role of corporations in society and the role of technology platforms in building inclusive technology that helps with skills development. “For us, it’s about what our position is, and how we can support or work with you to progress your mission forward,” Tim shared.

Tim Fawcett shared about the role of corporates working in partnership with NFPs, focusing on digital inclusion, safety online, cyber security and corporate citizenship. “There are powerful things corporations can do on social justice campaigns.”

Jackie shared that corporations have big teams and big budgets, and when aligned with social impact, corporations can have a big footprint in accelerating progress.

Strategic Decision-making with Data

Our final panel included Infoxchange CTO Alison Ramsay talking with Infoxchange’s Product Manager of Client & Case Management, Brendan James, AWS’s Head of Data and AI of the Public Sector APJ, Karthik Murugan and Andrea Harris, Head of Client Systems & Data, Berry Street Yooralla.

Their project on a data warehouse is focused on helping Berry Street remove roadblocks to access, simplifying reporting and helping customers improve their own data quality and drive their own insights, resolving bottlenecks in helping society.

“Iteration is key to making data work effectively – it’s about taking large, complex problems, dividing them into small chunks and working through until you get the right results. And of course, affordable, cost-effective and scalable solutions are the cornerstone of what we do. This has led to a robust solution we will continue to adapt at all levels,” shared Alison Ramsay.

The Australian Technology in the Not-for-Profit Sector Awards

The 2025 Tech Awards was an incredible event, celebrating the best in technology innovation and excellence in the NFP sector. Nearly 100 submissions were received, and selecting this year’s winners was no easy feat!

A huge congratulations to the winners:

• Not-for-Profit Technology Innovator of the Year Award: Watch on Nature, The Wilderness Society.
• Best Achievement by a First Nations Person/Organisation Award: The Indigenous Governance Toolkit, Australian Indigenous Governance Institute.
• Best Accidental IT Person Award: Lenka Brazda, Wombat Housing Support Services.
• Technology Volunteer of the Year Award: Graham Grundy, AMAGA Western Australia.
• Best Use of Data for Community Impact Award: Justice Connect.
• Technology for Community Impact Award: ImpactIQ, Enrichd Group.

You can read the full wrap-up of winners through Greg Thom’s piece in Our Community here: Institute of Community Directors Australia | Technology awards.

 

A huge thank you to our facilitators!

Day Two involved high-value workshops across digital marketing, inclusive communications, using technology for securing grants and impact, AI, innovation, machine learning, cyber security and more.

Day Three saw tech facilitators getting into the details of maximising impact with step-by-step workshops of their products. Nearly 100 joined us for an industry first initiative "Tech Demo Day" with the support of Microsoft, the Atlassian Foundation and Adobe, showcasing demos of how to utilise products and features for NFP purposes to accelerate efficiencies and impact, alongside announcements of huge sector discounts.

And to our partners for making this event possible.

To our partners – Microsoft, Atlassian Foundation, Adobe, the National AI Centre, gwi.digital, Supporter Hub & AfterPay, Strategic Grants, Dell Technologies, AI Growth Academy, Seer Data & Analytics, CSnet, Institute of Community Directors, Pro Bono Australia, Telstra Foundation and AutogenAI – thank you for investing in this community.

 

What’s Next?

• Keep connecting with peers.
• Reflect on what you’ll take back to your team.
• Start somewhere – and build from there.

Because the future of social justice isn’t just digital – it’s collaborative, innovative and community-driven.

Check out Infoxchange's resources

To learn more about Infoxchange's Digital Transformation Hub full of assessments, guides and webinars, visit Digital Transformation Hub.

To talk to someone at Infoxchange about managed IT Services, visit IT support for not-for-profits.

Keep an eye out for early bird tickets for next year’s event via our newsletter, and stay connected with us on LinkedIn.