CG TECH has been named a finalist for Digital Transformation at the 2026 ARN Innovation Awards, and this nomination comes down to one standout partnership: our work with TeamKids.
This year marks twenty years of the ARN Innovation Awards, and the field was as strong as it’s ever been. There were more than 420 nominations, with 271 finalists from 134 organisations making the cut, so to be recognised among them means a lot to our team. Winners will be announced at a black-tie celebration on Wednesday 28 October.
TeamKids is one of Australia’s largest Outside School Hours Care providers, supporting thousands of children through more than 2,000 staff across over 250 locations. Caring for kids at that scale takes a huge amount behind the scenes, and as TeamKids grew nationally, keeping safety, staffing, incident and compliance practices consistent became harder and harder. They wanted technology that would help them scale while holding onto the high standards of safety, compliance and care that families expect, and that’s where we came in.
Why This Nomination Matters
Digital transformation gets talked about as though it’s one big system going live on one big day, but in reality it’s usually the opposite. It’s lots of everyday moments getting easier, one after another, until the whole organisation runs in a smarter way.
That’s exactly what this partnership has been. We haven’t replaced everything TeamKids does with a single platform, we’ve steadily removed manual work, joined up their data, and given staff tools they can trust during a busy shift.
Being listed as a finalist is a chance to pause and recognise that quiet, practical kind of change, the kind that helps the people who care for Australian kids spend less time on paperwork and more time on what matters.
So how did we get there? It’s easier to show than to tell, so let’s walk through the work we’ve done with TeamKids, one piece at a time, and you’ll see how each one chipped away at the manual work until a smarter, safer way of running things took its place.
Building a Safer, More Scalable Operating Model
As one of Australia’s largest Outside School Hours Care providers, TeamKids exists to create safe, engaging and enriching experiences for children every day. As the organisation grew to more than 280 services nationwide, maintaining consistent standards of safety, compliance and care became increasingly complex.
Rather than implementing isolated technology projects, TeamKids and CG TECH worked together to create a connected digital ecosystem built on Microsoft technologies. Leveraging Microsoft Azure, Power Platform, Dynamics 365, Microsoft 365 and Copilot capabilities, the organisation has established a modern digital foundation that supports frontline teams, simplifies operations and strengthens decision-making.
A cornerstone of this transformation has been the development of an all-in-one operational app that brings together daily service processes, compliance activities, operational tasks and service checklists into a single experience. Combined with automation, analytics, AI and enterprise integrations, it has reduced administrative burden, improved consistency and enabled educators to spend more time focused on children and families.
Together, these initiatives have created a safer, more scalable operating model that supports continued growth while maintaining the high standards of care that families expect.
Answering Safety and Compliance Questions in Seconds
For a child-focused organisation, timely access to accurate guidance is critical. Frontline employees regularly need advice on child safety, incident management, compliance and operational procedures.
To simplify access to information, we implemented an AI-powered assistant built using Microsoft Copilot Studio and Power Apps. Connected to approved policy libraries through Microsoft Graph, the solution provides employees with instant access to trusted guidance directly within their workflow.
With multilingual and voice capabilities, employees can quickly access approved information when they need it most, ensuring decisions that impact children are supported by consistent guidance while allowing leaders to focus on supporting services rather than answering repetitive questions.
Making Incident Reporting Reliable Everywhere
Protecting the safety and wellbeing of children depends on reliable reporting processes and visibility of incidents across the organisation.
We modernised its incident management platform using Microsoft Power Apps, SharePoint and Power Automate. The mobile-first solution includes digital signatures, workflow automation and enhanced reporting capabilities, providing a consistent approach to incident reporting across more than 280 services.
The result is improved visibility, stronger governance and greater confidence that incidents affecting children are being captured, reviewed and managed appropriately regardless of where they occur.
Helping Services Stay Ahead of Compliance
Strong compliance processes play an important role in creating safe environments for children.
By leveraging automation and connected workforce data, we helped TeamKids significantly reduce manual compliance administration while improving visibility of Working with Children Checks and other critical workforce requirements. Service leaders now have easier access to the information they need to make informed staffing decisions and maintain high standards of child safety across the organisation.
Turning Scattered Data Into Earlier Action
As TeamKids expanded, critical information was spread across multiple systems, making reporting slow and heavily reliant on manual processes.
To address this, we developed an Azure-based enterprise data platform that consolidates information from finance, payroll, rostering, attendance, bookings and operational systems into a single source of truth.
Using Power BI, leaders now have real-time visibility of workforce performance, service operations and key business metrics. By identifying issues earlier and enabling proactive decision-making, TeamKids can provide better support to services and maintain consistent experiences for children and families.
Rolling Out 2,500 Contracts Without the Manual Grind
When more than 2,500 employee contracts needed to be issued following award changes, we leveraged Power Apps, Power Automate, SharePoint and DocuSign to automate the entire process.
What was previously a highly manual exercise became a seamless digital workflow, improving accuracy, reducing administration and enabling teams to focus on supporting employees who deliver exceptional experiences for children every day.
Listening To Families The Right Way
Families are at the centre of everything TeamKids does, making feedback a critical part of continuous improvement.
Using Dynamics 365 Customer Insights, Dataverse and Dynamics 365 Customer Voice, we helped TeamKids connect parent feedback directly to individual services, providing deeper visibility into family experiences and service performance.
This allows leaders to identify trends, prioritise improvements and make more informed decisions that positively impact children, families and local communities.
Bringing It All Together
While each initiative has delivered value individually, the greatest impact comes from how they work together.
AI powered by Microsoft Copilot Studio provides instant access to trusted guidance. Power Platform automates critical business processes and operational workflows. Azure and Power BI transform fragmented information into actionable insights. Dynamics 365 helps TeamKids better understand and respond to the needs of families. SharePoint and Microsoft 365 provide the collaboration and governance foundations that support a nationally dispersed workforce.
Together, these capabilities have transformed TeamKids into a more connected, data-driven organisation supporting more than 280 services across Australia.
Most importantly, every investment has been guided by a simple principle: technology should never replace the human element of care. It should remove complexity, strengthen safety and compliance, and create more time for educators and leaders to focus on what matters most, delivering exceptional experiences and outcomes for children and families.
That’s what digital transformation should do, not just deploy new technology, but create meaningful change that improves outcomes for the people who matter most.
It’s why we’re proud to be recognised as a finalist in the 2026 ARN Innovation Awards, and hugely grateful to TeamKids for trusting us to be part of that journey.
We’ll be at the awards on 28 October, and whatever the result, we’re thankful to be recognised alongside so many strong organisations shaping technology in Australia.