Award Partners
Our sector partners play a critical role in strengthening local government across Victoria. They unlock collaboration and knowledge‑sharing opportunities, working alongside councils to co‑design, evolve and sustain solutions that support communities now and into the future.
Deeply invested in the sector’s success, our partners bring agility, insight and practical expertise to complex challenges. Whether adopting emerging technologies, rethinking legacy systems or navigating uncertainty without a clear roadmap, they are constantly helping local government transform, reimagine services and turn shared ambition into meaningful outcomes.
In 2026, we are again partnering with key sector partners to help celebrate and build innovation in the Victorian local government sector. Explore our incredible 2026 MAVlab Innovation Award Partners below, with more to be announced soon.
To enquire about Award Partnerships, email mavlab@mav.asn.au.
Learn how our partners are solving challenges in our Partner Showcase
Premier Partners
Davidson
Proud supporter of the 2026 Innovatio Pro Bono Publico: Established Leader Award and The Stronger Together Award
Davidson is a proudly Australian organisation dedicated to enhancing workplace performance and delivering lasting impact across the public and private sectors. For over 30 years, we’ve partnered with organisations to solve complex challenges through business advisory, technology, and talent solutions. We are passionate about supporting innovation that strengthens communities, builds capability, and drives meaningful change; values closely aligned with the MAVlab Innovation Awards, which celebrate bold ideas and transformative outcomes shaping the future of local government.
JLT Public Sector
Proud supporter of the 2026 Innovatio Pro Bono Publico: Emerging Leader Award and The Thriving Award
As a long-term partner of the peak body for Local Government in Victoria, we recognise the importance of delivering innovative and sustainable services to local governments and community-based organisations. Local Government plays a crucial role in providing essential services to communities, and at JLT Public Sector, we are committed to helping our clients identify and manage their risk to protect their communities.
Award Partners
Attura
Proud supporter of The Smooth Operator Award
Atturra is an Australian-born, ASX-listed advisory and IT solutions business. Headquartered in Sydney, we have over 1300+ staff members working across ANZ, Singapore, Hong Kong and the USA. We offer end-to-end digital transformation services for our clients. Partnering with category-leading global technology providers, we offer scalable, expert solutions.
Australian Resilient Democracy Network (ARDN)
Proud supporter of The Community Voice Award
The Australian Resilient Democracy Network (ARDN) is designed to encourage interdisciplinary, collaborative, and applied research seeking policy-relevant insights that measure, diagnose and assess pathways strengthening Australia’s democratic resilience. The network is dedicated to sharing the analysis publicly and to encourage the use of these ideas to prompt future research collaborations and actionable policy. The ARDN is co-chaired by the Australian National University (ANU) and the Office of Social Cohesion (OSC) in the Department of Home Affairs.
australiandemocraticresilience.substack.com
Choosewell and the Local Government Employees Health Plan
Proud supporter of The Wellbeing Award
Choosewell Health Link is an award-winning health insurance broker dedicated to delivering expert advice and meaningful savings to Australian employees. Their specialized LGE Program—partnered with MAV and GMHBA—empowers local government staff with affordable private cover and exclusive hospital excess reimbursements, simplifying health decisions while enhancing financial protection.
choosewellhealthlink.com.au/corporate-lge
Datascape
Proud supporter of The Skilled to Serve Award
Datascape is Datacom's purpose-built council management system, enabling digital transformation for local government across Australia. Developed with deep local knowledge and decades of experience supporting local government, Datascape supports operations across engaging communities, delivering regulatory services, revenue and corporate operations, and managing assets.
Infrastructure Sustainability Council
Proud supporter of The Horizon Award
The Infrastructure Sustainability Council is the peak body for infrastructure sustainability in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand - delivering the leading systems to enable sustainability in all types of infrastructure across planning, design, construction, and operations. We represent more than 200 members and $429 billion in capital under registration.
Matter
Proud supporter of The Resilient Infrastructure Award
Matter provides world-first AI solutions to build smarter, more resilient communities. We replace guesswork with data by combining advanced sensor networks with powerful data analytics, helping councils and operators transform their waste and water management.
Our patented Meridian platform now features a breakthrough Mixture of Experts (MoE) agentic architecture — five specialised AI workers operating as one — delivering unprecedented intelligence for real-time flood and stormwater management. Trusted by councils across Australia, we turn real-time data into actionable insights that build a more sustainable future. Welcome to the future with Matter.
wastematters.co
watermatters.ai
RMIT Regenerative Futures Institute
Proud supporter of The Storytelling Award
RMIT Regenerative Futures Institute works to rebuild social, environmental and economic systems to create a more just and sustainable world. A new interdisciplinary initiative, we advance regenerative practice through education, research and collaboration. We bring together expertise across design, science, technology, systems thinking and social innovation, alongside Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledges, to explore how universities, industry, and communities can respond to complex environmental and societal challenges.
www.rmit.edu.au/about/regenerative-futures
SenSen Networks
Proud supporter of The Dollars and Sense Award
SenSen Networks provides the frontline intelligence platform built for local government. Built on our SenDISA AI engine, one platform powers parking enforcement, road asset mapping, kerbside compliance, safety monitoring and video analytics, deployed across vehicles, poles, bus, handheld or fixed infrastructure. We operate where it matters: the street, the kerb and the worksite. With deployments across 70+ cities in Australia, North America and Asia, SenSen empowers local government turn field operations into measurable financial and community outcomes.
Ylab
Proud supporter of The Connector Award
YLab partners with young people to design and drive better systems. Too often, the systems shaping young people's lives are built without them — and we're here to change that. We transform the lived experiences, skills and creativity of young people into services, strategies and campaigns that help build a better future. Through our youth employment model, we support young people to step into leadership on projects that reshape the systems around them, working towards a future grounded in inclusion, care and hope.
Innovation Partners
ALGIM - Association of Local Government Information Management
We are a not-for-profit association that brings people and technology together for a digitally transformed local government sector. We cover multiple disciplines, including Information Technology, AI, Web & Digital, Customer Experience, Process Improvement and Data & Insights.
Our purpose is to deliver on shared policies, resources, and projects! We are keen to tackle challenges councils are facing, and ALGIM will help resource and deliver on projects as directed by our member councils. All strategic decisions and priorities come from our members.
ASCA – Australian Smart Communities Association
Australian Smart Communities Association (ASCA) is the leading member‑based organisation dedicated to advancing smart, sustainable and inclusive communities across Australia. ASCA brings together local government, industry, academia and the community to share knowledge, build capability and accelerate innovation. Through events, advocacy, research and partnerships, ASCA supports leaders to harness technology, data and place‑based collaboration to deliver better outcomes for people and cities.
www.australiansmartcommunities.org.au
Australian Red Cross
Australian Red Cross exists to support people in their most difficult moments. With 111 years’ experience and a nationwide community of 16,000+ members and volunteers, we act locally and connect globally to deliver what’s needed, when it’s needed most.
CASBE – Council Alliance for a Sustainable Built Environment
The Council Alliance for a Sustainable Built Environment (CASBE) is a collaboration of Victorian councils working together to create resilient, liveable and future ready communities. Through shared leadership, evidence based tools and collaborative planning, CASBE strengthens local government capacity to shape places that can adapt to climate, social and economic challenges. CASBE champions resilient design and supports councils to deliver neighbourhoods where people and nature thrive.
Deidentified
Deidentified is an AI Privacy Gateway purpose-built for Australian local government. It enables councils to adopt generative AI tools while automatically protecting citizen privacy through real-time de-identification and re-identification of sensitive data. With human-in-the-loop governance at its core, Deidentified gives councils the confidence to move forward with AI, knowing that privacy, security and public accountability requirements are met by design.
FinPro
FinPro’s vision is to be the leading network supporting local government finance professionals in Victoria, to enable the delivery of community focused services to achieve positive outcomes. An Incorporated Association, FinPro has over 1,000 members representing all Victorian Local Government Councils, 5 regional library corporations and over twenty other organisations.
Leadership Victoria
As the foremost leadership organisation in Victoria, Leadership Victoria has been delivering unique programs for 35 years, including the flagship Williamson Community Leadership Program, creating a diverse network of over 8000+ Alumni. LV supports leaders to take the next step in their leadership journey and mobilise them to create meaningful impact in their organisations, communities and beyond. Leadership Victoria partners with many business, government and community organisations to support leaders at all levels, supporting organisational and systemic transformation.
Neighbourhood Houses Victoria
Neighbourhood Houses are places of connection, belonging, participation and inclusion. With over 400 locations across Victoria, these community-led & place-based have a significant and meaningful impact on their communities. A strong partnership with local council can ensure the community has united support and empowerment, and encourages community-led development.
Spero-ai
Spero-ai is a Melbourne-based company led by a former Victorian Government planning director, with 16 AI-native prototypes across the end-to-end planning permit process. The focus is accurate, explainable, planning-grade AI that fits council systems and delivers measurable efficiency gains.
