Key Insights

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  In 2011, Australia's public sector was largely undesigned with paternalistic approaches dominating policy and public services.

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  Studio thick, founded by Damon Young and Adam Morris, introduced ethical and human-centered design into Australian public service early on.

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  Royal Commissions into system failures, such as family violence and mental health, spotlight gaps that traditional design approaches failed to address.

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  Australia's digital transformation efforts centralized online service delivery but often delivered poor user experience and trust initially.

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  By 2018, the organization restructured into multi-disciplinary, autonomous teams inspired by the Reinventing Organizations model.

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  Nearly a third of the 65 mental health Royal Commission recommendations call for co-design, showing growing public sector interest in participatory design.

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  Partnering with the Department of Health on mental health reform involves spanning projects from strategic design to digital products and social prescribing.

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  Building capability at the division or organizational level, including governance and culture, is critical for sustainable co-design adoption.

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  Co-design requires intentional power sharing and mentoring between trained designers and people with lived experience, representing a major behaviour shift.

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  Organizational operations now integrate trauma-informed principles, including specific care plans per project and support for vicarious trauma among mental health workers.

Notable Quotes