Western Australia’s not-for-profit sector is facing a digital reckoning as rising service demand, tighter funding, cybersecurity threats and workforce pressures force organisations to reconsider whether the technology sitting behind frontline services can still be treated as an administrative expense.
For decades, charities and community organisations have been encouraged to keep overheads low and direct as much funding as possible towards the people they support, but that model is becoming increasingly difficult to sustain as technology becomes deeply embedded in almost every part of service delivery, from fundraising and reporting to client management, cybersecurity, data analysis and communication.
Across the sector, organisations are investing in digital platforms, integrated systems, automation and artificial intelligence not simply to become more efficient, but because the infrastructure behind their services is increasingly determining how many people they can reach, how safely they can operate and how effectively scarce resources can be deployed.
The challenge is that every dollar invested in technology can still be perceived as a dollar diverted from frontline services, even when outdated systems are themselves consuming staff time, creating security risks and limiting an organisation’s capacity to meet growing community need.
Anglicare WA chief information, technology and security officer Dr Russell Thom said the distinction between technology and mission had become increasingly difficult to sustain.
“Not-for-profit organisations create enormous value for our communities. We support people through some of life's most complex challenges, strengthen social connection, deliver essential services and help build a more resilient and inclusive society,” Dr Thom said.
“Technology is not separate from that mission. It is now one of the core capabilities that enables us to deliver services effectively, protect client trust, demonstrate impact, respond to growing expectations around cyber security and privacy, and ensure every dollar invested achieves the greatest possible benefit for the community.”
The pressure is intensifying because the expectations placed on community organisations are evolving more rapidly than many organisations’ capacity to fund that transformation.
“The challenge is that demand for services, compliance obligations and digital expectations are growing faster than many organisations' ability to invest,” Dr Thom said.
“If we want a stronger, more sustainable community sector, we need to recognise digital capability as essential infrastructure, invest in long-term capability building, and support organisations to innovate safely and responsibly.”
It is the idea of technology as infrastructure, rather than administration, that is emerging as one of the most significant issues confronting the sector.
Ronald McDonald House WA chief executive Peter King said not-for-profits remained under enormous pressure to demonstrate that money was flowing directly towards the people they served.
“In the not for profit sector there is a real pressure to put every dollar raised into front line service,” Mr King said, warning that failing to invest in the technology supporting those services could ultimately become “a false economy”.
For Ronald McDonald House WA, that question has become increasingly important as the organisation has expanded from 18 rooms in Subiaco to 47 rooms and now 111, with plans to reach 136 rooms on the QEII Medical Centre campus.
Mr King said the organisation should not simply be viewed through the traditional lens of charity, given the role it plays in supporting families while children undergo medical treatment.
“We are an essential service critical for the health system in Australia to deliver successful outcomes,” he said.
That expansion has also increased the complexity of the systems required to support families, employees, volunteers, donors and healthcare partners, prompting the organisation to undertake a broad review of its digital capability.
Executive manager of development and brand engagement Danielle Norrish said digital transformation was increasingly about organisational sustainability rather than technology alone.
“For many organisations, digital transformation is no longer simply about technology. It is about strengthening impact, sustainability, and organisational resilience,” she said.
Ronald McDonald House WA is reviewing its systems and processes with the aim of creating a more seamless experience for families while building greater integration with health services.
“The value of this approach lies in establishing a long-term, organisation-wide digital roadmap that supports our mission and amplifies our impact for Western Australian families,” Ms Norrish said.
For smaller organisations, the need to modernise can be less visible but no less significant, with inefficient databases, disconnected platforms and hours of manual administration quietly absorbing resources that might otherwise be directed towards client support.
Motor Neurone Disease Association of WA chief executive Maeve Egan said investment in better systems had allowed her organisation to shift more resources back towards its core work.
“Systems that integrate and reduce manual processing and labour-intensive work-arounds allow room to focus on the core work of the organisation,” Ms Egan said.
“MNDAWA have undergone a digital transformation with the improvements allowing for more resources to focus on the services we offer, meaning our clients and families get the real benefit.”
She said concerns that automation would necessarily lead to fewer staff had not reflected the organisation’s experience, with technology instead allowing people to be redirected towards service support.
“There can be a misconception that automation reduces staffing, in our case we have been able to redirect resources to areas of service support,” she said.
The greater risk, Ms Egan said, was delaying change until years of disconnected systems and manual processes became even more difficult to address.
“Not investing in systems and technology just pushes the problem down the road, eventually you have to face it,” she said.
“It can be akin to building a house, it typically takes longer than you would have wanted, but once in place you won’t ever wish you didn’t do it.”
Holyoake chief executive Ben Smith believes the sector has already reached the point where technology must be viewed as a strategic capability rather than a support function.
“Digital transformation is no longer a future aspiration for the not-for-profit sector. It is a strategic necessity,” Mr Smith said.
“As community needs become more complex and demand for services continues to grow, organisations should be investing in technology that enables them to deliver greater impact, improve client experiences, strengthen security, and make better use of limited resources.”
Holyoake views technology as “a critical driver of quality services and better outcomes”, with Mr Smith warning that organisations unable to modernise could become less efficient, less secure and less attractive to a workforce increasingly accustomed to sophisticated digital environments.
“In a rapidly changing environment, the question is no longer whether we can afford to invest in technology, but whether we can afford not to.”
Western Australia’s geography creates another layer of complexity, particularly for organisations attempting to serve metropolitan, regional and remote communities across one of the world’s largest jurisdictions.
Variety WA chief executive Chris Chatterton said technology was increasingly central to identifying where demand existed and ensuring limited resources were directed towards the communities where they could have the greatest effect.
“At Variety WA, technology helps us understand where the greatest needs exist, engage with families throughout the state and ensure our limited resources are directed where they can have the greatest impact,” he said.
Yet one of the sector’s biggest obstacles, he said, remains the perception that technology expenditure belongs in the administrative column rather than alongside essential service infrastructure.
“The challenge is that investment in technology is still too often viewed as administration rather than essential service-delivery infrastructure,” Mr Chatterton said.
He said governments, boards and funders needed to recognise cybersecurity, staff training and digital capability as legitimate organisational investments, warning that without them the sector risked becoming “less efficient, less secure and ultimately less able to support the communities that depend upon it”.
But technology presents another challenge for organisations whose mission often involves supporting people experiencing disadvantage, because the rapid digitisation of government services, banking, healthcare and communication also risks excluding those without reliable access or digital confidence.
Vinnies WA chief executive Ann Curran said organisations therefore had a responsibility not only to modernise themselves, but also to ensure that transformation did not create another barrier for vulnerable people.
“Digital capability is no longer an optional enhancement; it is essential infrastructure for community organisations,” Ms Curran said.
Technology and artificial intelligence could reduce administrative burdens and allow employees to spend more time supporting communities, she said, but their use also created obligations around cybersecurity, privacy, ethics and human oversight.
“Digital transformation must not become another source of exclusion,” she said.
“The consequence of not investing is ultimately a reduced capacity to achieve our purpose. Outdated systems and inefficient processes can consume resources, limit our ability to use data effectively and make it harder for our dedicated people to respond to community need.”
For Vinnies, Ms Curran said, the debate should not be reduced to a choice between investing in technology and investing in people.
“The right technology can help us deliver our mission better while our voice and presence can help ensure that technological change does not leave people further behind.”
Digital transformation is also changing the economics of fundraising at a time when cost-of-living pressures are making competition for discretionary donations more intense and supporters increasingly expect organisations to demonstrate tangible impact.
MNDAWA operations and fundraising manager Trudy Renshaw said charities needed to strike a balance between embracing technology and preserving the personal relationships that underpin giving.
“The future of fundraising isn’t digital or human, it’s both,” she said.
“Choosing not to invest in digital capability comes at a cost. It can mean lost supporters, greater inefficiency, missed opportunities for growth and ultimately, fewer resources to create the impact our missions exist to achieve.”
Perth Children’s Hospital Foundation chief executive Carrick Robinson said the rapid emergence of generative AI was adding another dimension to the pressure on organisations already being asked to demonstrate how every donated dollar translates into community impact.
“With the proliferation of Generative AI, organisations are being challenged to deliver greater impact with fewer resources, while still ensuring every donor dollar delivers meaningful outcomes,” Mr Robinson said.
“By leveraging technology to transform how we work, we can do more with less, maximise the value of every donation, and ultimately deliver greater impact for WA’s sickest kids and their families.”
The issue confronting Western Australia’s not-for-profit sector is therefore becoming much larger than whether organisations purchase new software, move systems into the cloud or experiment with artificial intelligence.
It is a question of whether the infrastructure required to run a modern community organisation is still being judged through an outdated understanding of what constitutes overhead.
Cybersecurity systems may never be as visible to donors as a hospital bed, counselling session or emergency accommodation program, while data governance, workforce training and integrated platforms are unlikely to produce the same emotional response as a story about a family whose life has been changed by a charity.
Yet those investments increasingly determine whether sensitive information remains secure, whether staff spend their time completing paperwork or supporting people, whether organisations can demonstrate impact to funders and whether limited resources are reaching the places where they are most needed.
If digital investment continues to be treated as something peripheral to frontline delivery, there is a risk that a new divide will emerge across the sector between organisations with the resources to modernise and those forced to continue operating with ageing systems while demand for their services continues to grow.
For governments, philanthropists, funding bodies and NFP boards, that creates a broader question about what responsible funding now looks like.
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