The Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA) requires an AI-enhanced enterprise search solution to replace its current system. The solution will be implemented in three phases during 2025: a pilot phase, followed by full semantic search deployment (Q1), and AI enhancement implementation (Q2).

The solution must support DVA's digital ecosystem spanning the primary dva.gov.au domain and up to 15+ specialist service websites, serving 2.2m annual visitors generating approximately 29,000 monthly search queries. Core requirements include federated search capabilities, sub-second response times, and 99.9% uptime.

Technical requirements include vector-based semantic indexing, natural language understanding, and Australian data residency.

The AI-enhanced solution will provide natural conversational interactions, enabling veterans to ask questions in plain language and receive contextually relevant responses drawn from DVA's authoritative content. Through Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG), the system will ensure accurate, sourced responses while maintaining the conversational nature of interactions.

The solution must be scalable, support future innovation, and maintain DVA's commitment to providing high-quality search experiences for veterans and their families accessing critical service information.

Estimated start date: Friday, 21 February 2025

Initial contract duration: 12 months

Extension term: 6 months

Number of extensions: 2

Working arrangements: Remote