Paediatric robotic surgery is widely performed internationally; however, no service, governance framework, or training pathway existed in Australia or New Zealand. This talk describes the experience of establishing a paediatric robotic surgery service and developing a reproducible framework for other centres. Service development required creating governance, credentialing, and training frameworks from scratch. Adult robotic models were adapted, paediatric-specific credentialing standards were defined, and training and accreditation requirements revised. A public-in-private service model added further complexity, requiring cross-sector collaboration and stakeholder engagement. Over 12 months, these efforts established a functioning service supported by a public–private agreement, enabling public paediatric patients to access robotic surgery safely. This experience proposes a framework structured around four pillars: feasibility assessment, training and credentialing, governance and risk management, and service implementation through collaboration, providing a practical guide for institutions seeking to introduce paediatric robotic surgery at their centres.

Robotic-assisted paediatric surgery is growing rapidly but remains in its infancy in Australasia. Experience from other regions shows the value of building collaborative networks early — especially in paediatrics, which poses unique challenges. Common barriers include institutional processes, business models, demonstrating safety and efficacy, and platform requirements and training. Drawing on interviews with international leaders (Gundeti, Blanc, Peters) and national datasets, we developed a clinician led paediatric robotic collaborative and a standardized REDCap database to capture preoperative, intraoperative (robot specific metrics, docking/console times, conversions), and postoperative outcomes including complications, length of stay and patient reported experience measures. Key insights—inclusive governance, pragmatic data field selection based on clinical experience and literature, and clear contribution/authorship rules—shaped a practical platform for research, quality assurance and business-case support. This collaborative approach aims to accelerate learning and dissemination, generate robust multi institutional evidence, and guide safe, equitable implementation of paediatric robotic surgery in Australasia.