In this episode of Commercial Disco, SeeMePlease founder Katie McDermott talks about building a user testing platform that puts accessibility first, the lessons she brought from her time as NSW’s chief digital officer, and the challenges startups face navigating government procurement.

With Anthony Albanese now penciled in for a meeting with Donald Trump at the White House on October 20, expect to hear about sizeable investments in data centres and renewables. InnovationAus editor Justin Hendry talks through the week's innovation news with James Riley.

In this episode of Commercial Disco, China tech policy expert Phillippa Jones unpacks how Beijing’s long-term innovation strategy has been reshaped by the “Deep Seek moment” and what it signals for the global technology race. She traces the evolution from Made in China 2025 to new capital market models for funding science and technology, explains how the next five-year plan will set the direction for AI, robotics and quantum, and offers a perspective on where Australia should focus its comparative strengths in critical minerals, processing and energy.

InnovationAus editorial director James Riley speaks with Dawn Massa-Stancavish, CEO of US-based Massa Products Corporation, about the company’s legacy in sonar and its role in supplying the Virginia-class submarines. Dawn shares her perspective on AUKUS, stressing the need for Pillar II to move in parallel with submarine programs and calling for greater involvement of SMEs in defence innovation. She also highlights collaborations with Australian suppliers and universities, and why agile supply chains are key to sovereignty.

In this episode of NewsWrap, senior reporter Joseph Brookes heads to the Tech Council of Australia's summit in Sydney, covering contributions from Industry minister Tim Ayres, NSW Premier Chris Minns and federal assistant minister Andrew Charlton, among others.

In this episode of the Commercial Disco, Dr Andrew Charlton discusses Australia's opportunity to fully participate in the emerging global AI market, both as host to tens of billions of dollars worth of AI data centres, and for Australian companies building AI models and applications for global markets.

In this episode of The Commercial Disco, GBG’s head of data innovation Michael Harmer explains why the case for a national ID in Australia is “dead in the water,” arguing that the country’s existing identity infrastructure, anchored by government-verified documents and services like the DVS, already delivers world-class assurance. Harmer discusses how AI is both a threat and an opportunity for digital identity, the importance of behavioural context in fraud detection, and why mobile credentials will shape the future of secure and privacy-preserving identity verification.

After three years of war in Europe, Ukrainian Ambassador to Australia Vasyl Myroshnychenko says his country has become a real-time battlefield laboratory, producing vast troves of invaluable data. Successfully defending against the Russian invasion has produced an amazing ecosystem of innovators from all over the world. The Ambassador says there are lessons and opportunities for Australia.

Can Australia play an outsized role in the global regulation of Big Tech? Do we have the middle-power muscle to bring together a coalition of countries that would have the combined heft to push back on tech overreach?

Tech Policy Design Institute co-founder and CEO Johanna Weaver digs deep into the global political and technological forces shaping the world right now.

In this episode of NewsWrap, InnovationAus editor Justin Hendry explores the $US$1 billion PsiQuantum Series E capital raise and looks at how the Australian and Queensland governments' US$250 million fits in.