The Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) has begun piloting Microsoft Copilot following the completion of its shared services IT transition in June.
Around 100 staff members have started using the generative AI tool across Microsoft Outlook, Word, Teams, Excel, and PowerPoint in a trial that the department said will “inform our long-term approach to AI adoption.”
While small in scale – DCCEEW employs 5790 staff [pdf] – the pilot reflects the department’s intention to capitalise on its “now full control of ICT services” and move toward a “future-ready, AI-enabled digital experience”.
DCCEEW is now seeking external support to provide Copilot training and “capability uplift” for senior executives and ICT staff until February next year, as well as “assistance in shaping the longer-term operation.”
Part of the uplift program will include developing knowledge articles within ServiceNow, alongside training for the IT support team.
In a statement to iTnews, DCCEEW said it is already using a range of generative AI, machine learning, natural language processing, and decision-support systems across various parts of the organisation.
“This crosses policy development, scientific and regulatory insights, and some administrative processes,” the spokesperson said.
“Environmental monitoring, species identification and detection and monitoring of marine debris are practical examples of how we already use AI.”
DCCEEW was established in mid-2022 and took over climate and energy functions that previously sat with the Department of Industry.
Two years later, the department was largely absent from the Digital Transformation Agency’s (DTA) six-month trial of Copilot, with only a handful of Parks Australia staff participating, iTnews understands.
At the time, the department was still in the middle of a two-year transition from its shared services IT arrangement with the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF).
Having concluded that in June, the department now manages its own IT operations, although it still has a number of business applications hosted within DAFF and the Department of Industry, Science and Resources (DISR).
In its latest corporate plan [pdf], DCCEEW said it is now focused “on securing, stabilising, and rationalising” its networks and systems through “enhanced cyber security and information management”.
It has established an enterprise data strategy “to mature the data function” and went live with a standalone HR and payroll platform built on Aurion last year.
