Social service sector gains seat on federal open government forum

NCOSS CEO Cara Varian has been appointed to Australia’s Open Government Forum, joining a group of civil society leaders who will work directly with government on transparency, integrity, public participation and reform over the next two years.

The Forum will develop, implement and monitor Australia’s Fourth Open Government National Action Plan with the Attorney General’s Department. The first meeting was held on 19 May 2026.

Ms Varian said she will use the seat at the table to bring the concerns of the sector to the forum.

“Trust in government isn’t an abstract concept for the community services sector — it shapes whether people access services, whether communities engage with policy, and whether reforms actually land.

“The social and community service sectors sit between government, and the people it serves. We see what’s working and what isn’t.  That is why I’m proud to have been appointed as a civil society member of Australia’s Fourth Open Government Forum, and I’ll bring that community services perspective to conversations about how we build a more open, transparent and accountable government,” Ms Varian said.

Ms Varian pointed to the 2026 Edelman Trust Barometer which found only 53 percent of Australians trust government to do what is right.

Despite being an incremental increase from previous years, Ms Varian said the figure still pointed to a broader pattern of insularity and widening divides.

“You can’t rebuild trust from the top down. A multilateral partnership with both civil society and government doing the hard work together is how we bridge that gap.”

Ms Varian said one thing members and the broader sector have raised concerns about is data collection and use, especially with the increasing uptake of AI within government and other industries.

“As the integration of AI becomes more common place, the questions of what data is collected, how it’s stored, who can access it and how secure it is, are valid and important questions. It can shape who gets seen, who gets supported and who gets left behind.”

Ms Varian said she looked forward to working with other appointees to the group, who include Dr Mark Zirnsak, Ravi Krishnamurthy, Clancy Moore, Professor Emerita Anne Twomey, and Professor Kimberly Weatherall.

You can find more information about the Open Government Forum here.