Gadali and Ability First with Microsoft empower disability care through AI-driven workforce efficiency
Announcement posted by UBE Marketing 30 Mar 2026
Sydney, Australia Disability service providers across Australia are facing mounting pressures from workforce shortages, rising operational costs, and increasing administrative demands. In response, Ability First Australia, in partnership with Gadali and Microsoft Elevate, has successfully piloted an AI powered Care App designed to reduce administrative burden, improve workforce efficiency, and enable carers to spend more time delivering high quality, human-centered care.
The challenge
The disability services sector is facing increasing pressure from workforce shortages, rising costs, and growing administrative requirements. Frontline carers often spend significant time on documentation and reporting, reducing the time available for direct participant support. This challenge is amplified by a diverse workforce, where many carers are non-native English speakers.
Ability First partnered with Gadali, working closely with Microsoft Elevate, to explore how technology could reduce administrative burden, improve workforce efficiency, and support better care outcomes without compromising the human-centred nature of service delivery.
Rather than deploying a pre-defined solution, the project began with a structured consultation and co-design process. Through pre-interviews and facilitated workshops involving stakeholders from frontline workers to executive leadership, key operational challenges were identified and prioritised.
This process led to the concept and pilot of an AI-powered Care App, designed specifically to address frontline reporting challenges and improve efficiency across care delivery.
Key objectives included:
- Reducing administrative burden for frontline carers
- Improving accessibility for a linguistically diverse workforce
- Increasing time spent on direct participant care
- Enhancing data quality and consistency
- Supporting integration with workforce systems such as rostering and payroll
- Establishing a scalable, future-ready digital foundation aligned with Microsoft technologies
Solution overview
The Care App is an AI-powered application designed to help carers capture information naturally and efficiently during care delivery.
Using conversational AI and speech-based input, carers can record interactions verbally rather than relying on manual written reporting. This significantly reduces documentation time and supports carers who may find written English challenging.
The solution integrates with broader organisational systems, enabling improved workforce coordination, operational efficiency, and seamless data flow across care delivery processes. Powered by AI Foundry, carers' conversational notes are intelligently analysed to automatically generate structured tasks, reorganise inputs into compliant shift notes, and trigger care plan updates where required. These outputs are securely orchestrated into existing workforce and operational platforms, ensuring real-time alignment across the provider's digital ecosystem.
As Andrew Rowley, CEO of Ability First Australia, explains:
"We want our support workers spending less time holding the pen and more time providing services and looking after people."
Technology foundation
- The Care App is built on a modern Microsoft cloud architecture, leveraging:
- Microsoft Azure for scalable, secure infrastructure
- Microsoft Translator to convert spoken input into accurate English text
- Copilot Studio to power AI-driven conversational interactions
- AI Foundry for advanced AI model implementation and governance
- Azure Functions for lightweight, event-driven processing
- Power Apps for frontline data capture and interaction
- Power Automate for end-to-end workflow orchestration
- Dataverse for secure storage of interaction and process data
This architecture provides a secure, flexible, and scalable platform that supports real-world care delivery while preparing the organisation for future AI initiatives.
Gadali's role
As the solution partner, Gadali led the end-to-end design and implementation of the Care App, working closely with Ability First and Microsoft Elevate.
Gadali's role included:
- Co-design and facilitation: Running interviews and workshops with stakeholders across the organisation to identify real business challenges
- Solution design: Translating operational needs into a practical, AI-enabled application
- Technical delivery: Designing and implementing the solution using Microsoft Azure and Power Platform
- Integration: Ensuring the Care App aligned with existing workforce and operational systems
- Governance and scalability: Applying best practices to support security, compliance, and future growth
As Dustin McClung, CEO of Gadali, notes:
"The Care App was born out of consultation across the breadth of the organisation, from frontline workers through to the C-suite. We focused on understanding real business challenges before introducing any technology."
Microsoft perspective
At its core, this initiative demonstrates how technology can support real human outcomes when it is designed around people, not systems.
As Anita Sood, Microsoft Elevate Asia Commercial Operating Unit Lead, explains:
"At Microsoft Elevate, we start with people, not technology. By working closely with Ability First and Gadali, we listened to frontline carers and built solutions around their lived experience. AI gives time back by easing paperwork, so carers can focus on what matters most, supporting people with disability with dignity, care, and trust. That's responsible, human-centred AI creating real impact for organisations and communities." - Anita Sood, Microsoft Asia Elevate Commercial Lead
Successful outcomes
The Care App delivered meaningful benefits across workforce experience, organisational efficiency, and community impact.
Workforce outcomes
- Reduced time spent on documentation and reporting
- Improved accessibility for non-native English speakers
- Greater focus on direct participant care
- Increased engagement and satisfaction among carers
Organisational outcomes
- Improved operational efficiency across care delivery
- Better quality, more consistent data
- Stronger integration with workforce systems
- A scalable solution aligned with NDIS requirements
Community impact
By enabling carers to spend more time with participants, the Care App supports more personalised, human-centred care, particularly in complex service environments where relationships and trust are critical.
Looking ahead
The Care App provides Ability First with a future-ready digital foundation that supports continued innovation across service delivery. Built on Microsoft technologies, the solution positions the organisation to extend AI capabilities over time while maintaining a strong focus on people, inclusion, and care outcomes.
About Gadali
Gadali is an Australian technology consultancy specialising in humancentred digital solutions across government, health, and community services. Working in close partnership with organisations and frontline teams, Gadali designs and delivers secure, scalable solutions using Microsoft technologies to improve workforce efficiency, service delivery, and real-world outcomes.
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