Tasmania’s technology industry is urging the state government to accelerate its leadership in artificial intelligence adoption and digital innovation, warning that failure to act could result in declining workforce productivity across the state.
The call comes as TasICT released its annual member survey, revealing strong business optimism tempered by significant concerns about the pace of government support for the digital economy.
TasICT CEO Russell Kelly said Tasmania’s tech firms showed greater confidence than their mainland counterparts, with 34 per cent of respondents expecting revenue growth above 10 per cent in 2025 – up from 19 per cent in 2024. Additionally, 45 per cent plan to hire staff, maintaining last year’s levels.
However, reduced government technology spending is having significant impact on the sector.
“Tech jobs are productive jobs – they can help businesses get a competitive edge and help government provide services more cheaply,” Kelly said.
“Our sector urges the State Government to have a digital roadmap for improving digital services in Tasmania.”
The survey, conducted in September 2025, identified AI adoption, cybersecurity and skills shortages as the major challenges facing Tasmania’s tech industry.
The sector currently employs 11,200 people – representing 3.2 per cent growth – and contributes $1.1 billion to the state’s economy.
According to Deloitte Access Economics’ Digital Pulse report for the Australian Computer Society, released last week, 21,000 additional tech jobs could be created by 2035.
“Crucially, 81 per cent of TasICT members consider that the State Government is not doing enough to advance the Digital Economy – and its not improving compared with previous years,” Kelly said.
The survey revealed widespread AI adoption, with more than 86 per cent of TasICT members already using AI in their businesses and a further 7 per cent researching implementation. Around 5 per cent are deploying AI for critical system processes, aligning with national tech sector trends.
Kelly said the upcoming state budget must prioritise technology investment and establish a clear pathway for Tasmania’s digital future.
“Tasmania has a great potential to pioneer science, creative industry and sustainable tech – but we are moving slowly at a time when the arrival of AI is changing the world at break-neck speed,” he said.
The industry’s concerns emerge as the government pursues multiple digital transformation initiatives across health, public services and infrastructure.
The government is implementing a 10-year $476 million Digital Health Transformation Strategy, with the 2025-26 Budget investing an additional $30 million towards the initiative. The state has also committed $3.3 million to the Cyber Hubs Initiative to bolster cyber defences through a new whole-of-government shared operating model, alongside $11.5 million to improve Tasmania’s digital connectivity including telecommunications capacity through the Marinus Link subsea cable project.
Other major projects include the $12.9 million Project Unify to upgrade disparate ICT systems supporting policing operations, and the continuation of digital transformation projects such as MyServiceTas and the Statewide Wi-Fi Access Program.
Minister for Innovation, Science and the Digital Economy Madeleine Ogilvie has emphasised that moving Tasmania’s economy to the digital frontier will bring real benefits to Tasmanians. In March 2025, at Tas Tech Fest, she announced consultation on digitising public over-the-counter services as part of refreshing the Our Digital Future strategy.
“We’re proud of our recent digital transformation projects, including MyServiceTas and the Statewide Wi-Fi Access Program and we’re setting our sights on further reform,” Ogilvie said at the time.
The government is also developing an Advanced Technology Industries Strategy, which aims to accelerate development and adoption of advanced technologies across key sectors to drive innovation, productivity, sustainability, jobs and growth. A consultation paper for the strategy was released in late 2024.
In the 2024-25 Budget, the government provided $30,000 funding to TasICT for its cybersecurity conference, workforce development and student engagement activities. The government has also committed $400,000 annually to sustain whole-of-government cyber security capability and released a new Cyber Security Strategy 2024-28 in February 2025.
Despite these investments, the industry maintains that a more comprehensive approach is needed to keep pace with technological change and competitor states.
TasICT highlighted the recent announcement of Tasmanian firm Firmus Technologies’ $73.3 billion Project Southgate as evidence of the sector’s strength and potential. On 17 October 2025, Firmus Technologies revealed a strategic partnership with CDC Data Centres and chip-maker NVIDIA to expand the project from Tasmania and Melbourne to Perth, Adelaide, Sydney and Canberra.
About TasICT
TasICT is the peak industry body representing Tasmania’s technology and digital sectors. The organisation advocates for the state’s tech industry, supports member businesses and works to advance Tasmania’s digital economy through policy development, industry collaboration and workforce development initiatives.
Tasmanian Times (TT) is a community-based news and current affairs service covering the island state of Tasmania. It exists to provide a diverse presentation of Tasmanian issues. TT creates and supports independent media content utilising the best of modern technologies and tried-and-true practices of public-interest journalism.
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