Over recent years, actuarial work has expanded beyond the traditional areas of insurance and pensions into wider fields, including governments and other social sector organisations. With their wide reach and access to data, the use of machine learning and algorithms is becoming more widespread in government agencies. Actuaries can offer value in this area, not only in building models and algorithms for use, but also in ensuring that the models are built in an ethical manner. We will review some examples of work in this area, where data-driven decisions can make a real difference to people's lives. We will also discuss New Zealand's Algorithm Charter (https://data.govt.nz/assets/data-ethics/algorithm/Algorithm-Charter-2020...). Introduced in mid-2020, this is effectively a call to action for government agencies to provide New Zealanders with the confidence that algorithms are being used sensibly and ethically.