Code for Australia Sandpit

An intensive program that draws on collective knowledge, breaks down silos & reimagines how public sector problems can be solved

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How It Works

The six-week intensive program gives public sector change makers the tools and experience they need to explore, test and validate their ideas.

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Skills + Tools

We provide practical tools and leader-led workshops to work agile, think lean and explore the future of your idea.

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Action Learning

Participants form cross-sector teams to work on real-world ideas with impact. No textbooks, just hustle.

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Collaborate + Build

We team you with experienced designers and developers to give your idea a go, find out if it has legs, and build a roadmap to scale it.

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“I’m passionate about empowering communities to take ownership of outcomes themselves… educating isn’t just passing over knowledge.”

– Peter Williams, Chief Edge Officer, Deloitte Australia

Meet Your Mentors

When you learn with us, you’ll be connected to a network of makers and innovators who will draw from experience, tools and research to guide you through your journey.

Peter Williams

Centre For The Edge, Deloitte

Kate Bennett Eriksson

Head of Innovation, PwC Australia

William Confalonieri

CIO, Deakin University

Ben Richardson

Aerospace Engineer & Entrepreneur

Jo Szczepanska

Head of Co-design at Today

Toby Bellwood

govCMS Technical Services Manager, Department of Finance

Want To Know More?

Grab a copy of our info pack to find out about focus areas, course content, speakers, times and more.

Common Questions

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What are the goals of the Sandpit?

We create spaces for public sector changemakers to give their ideas a go; safely yet with all the tools they need to move forward and scale them.

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Who will I be sitting next to?

You’ll be teamed up with talented technologists and surrounded by likeminded changemakers from the public sector. Everyone who particiaptes in the Sandpit is passionate about finding new ways to solve government challenges.

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What do I bring with me?

Energy and a book to capture your notes. We also cater each session with delicious food so bring your appetite.

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How much does it cost?

We’d love to offer this program for free, but we haven’t found the magic person or organisation to fund it. In the meantime, the cost per organisation is $10k (excluding GST). Bring one idea through and up to two people. We recommend sending two people because your organisation will double its learning.

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What are the dates and times?

The Sandpit runs over six weeks, in twelve two-hour sessions: Tuesday evenings from 6-8pm and Friday mornings from 8-10am. You will need to set aside some extra time on top of this for project work. Click here to see when and where our next intakes are.

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How can I benefit from participating?

If you’ve ever had an idea to make something in the public sector more affordable, scalable, easy or efficient, this is the place to validate it. By participating in the Sandpit you can expect to walk away having explored your idea, with hands on experience in collaboratively validating, testing and scaling it.

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Is there any pre-reading?

Nope – you can read blog posts from previous participants but no pre-work is necessary.

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How much tech do I need to know?

None! All we need to know is that you’re interested in learning. We will help demistify the nitty-gritty of prototyping, online collaboration, product lifecycles and the strings behind the buttons you push.

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I need to convince my boss, can you help?

We’ve prepared a pitch deck to help public sector folk request support to participate in the Sandpit. Shoot us a message and we’d be happy to send through a copy.

Secure Your Spot

We cap numbers at 20 participants per intake, 2 per organisation.

Save a spot for yourself and a colleague by clicking below.

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What Makes Us Unique

It’s not just access to the industry people but also to the things that they’re willing to share, that made it an excellent experience. Rebecca Johnston

Senior Lawyer - Practice Standards, Victoria Legal Aid

One of the real strengths is the collaboration across different government sectors and with the private sector, in bringing in those different ideas and different perspectives. Jeremy Harris

Department of Premier & Cabinet, New South Wales