The Australian National AI Plan is here.
The Commonwealth Government has released its long-awaited National AI Plan (Plan) – which will shape the future of AI investment, policy and business over the coming years. This article highlights four things Australian leaders need to know about the Plan, and four immediate recommended actions. The Plan is the culmination of a wave of guidance, policy positions, technical papers and regulatory signalling from various agencies over the past 12 months.
For leaders, the key message is this:
The Australian Government is seeking to enable the AI opportunity and will consider whether uplifts are required to existing laws to manage AI risk.
The Plan provides the context executives need to make informed decisions about AI strategy, value creation, risk management and governance uplift as organisations enter the next phase of AI adoption. If organisations have not done so already – now is the time to develop AI strategy and AI governance to maximise the AI opportunity and mitigate the risks.
What does the National AI Plan include?
The Plan is organised around three national objectives, set out in the “AI Plan on a Page” (p.9). These are to:
- Capture the AI opportunities by building smart infrastructure, backing Australia’s AI capability and attracting AI investment;
- Spread the benefits of AI by scaling AI adoption, supporting and training Australians and improving public services; and
- Keep Australians safe by mitigating AI harms, promoting responsible practices and partnering on global AI norms.
Several key themes emerge from the Plan that provide important context for leaders and decision makers.
The first is the Government's light-touch regulatory posture - a setting seemingly designed to accelerate investment and innovation. The Plan confirms there will be no standalone AI Act. Australia will not mandate the Proposed Mandatory Guardrails contained in the ‘Safe and Responsible AI in Australia: Proposals paper for introducing mandatory guardrails for AI in high-risk settings’. Instead, Australia will continue to rely on existing laws, including privacy, consumer protection, copyright, workplace law, sector-specific regulation and online safety.This means organisations will continue to navigate the complex regulatory patchwork when assessing and managing AI risk and opportunity.
For example, the Plan references:
- ongoing review and reforms to the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), including to manage AI-specific privacy harms such as bias, profiling and surveillance: 'the Attorney-General is leading work to develop a modernised and clear Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), which achieves the right balance between protecting people’s personal information and allowing it to be used and shared in ways that benefit individuals, society, and the economy. This will help to underpin trust in digital services';
- strengthened protections for online safety, such as against deepfake material. For a brief update of recent online safety developments access our summary about the eSafety Commissioner's notices to 4 AI companies; and
- the review of copyright settings for AI training – for further details access our summary about Copyright and AI: Consultation on licensing for AI training.
This regulatory posture will be supported by the new National AI Safety Institute, announced last month. The Institute will monitor AI harms, conduct testing and evaluation of advanced systems, and advise Government about when additional legal intervention may be necessary.
The second theme is the Plan's emphasis on national capability and worker protection.
The Plan is explicit that AI adoption must be consultative, transparent, and fair - meaning workers and unions should be involved early in decisions about AI use. Organisations are expected to consider and mitigate the impacts of AI on jobs and the workforce. Alongside this, the Plan outlines initiatives to lift national capability, such as large-scale AI literacy programs, community-based AI training hubs and new reskilling pathways for Australians at risk of displacement.
A third important theme is government leadership and public-sector adoption.
As outlined in the Australian Public Service AI Plan (further information below), the APS will significantly increase its adoption, governance and focus on AI – including via a dedicated GovAI platform, introduction of a Chief AI Officer for each Commonwealth government agency, mandatory AI literacy training and AI use reporting. This establishes a new baseline for organisational maturity for the Australian Public Service and will no doubt impact expectations on the private sector moving forward.
Finally, the Plan reinforces the importance of infrastructure, sovereignty, and global alignment.
The Plan positions Australia as an AI and data-centre hub, including via a focus on data centre investment, the creation of national data-centre principles and a focus on sovereign compute capability. The Plan also highlights international cooperation, including participation in the International Network of AI Safety Institutes and alignment with global norms on trusted AI, and has a strong focus on Indigenous Data Sovereignty and transparency requirements.
What key context do leaders need to know understand about the Plan?
To understand the Plan, leaders should view it alongside the substantial developments throughout 2025 in AI policy, guidance and investment. We have summarised key recent AI developments in Australia below:
APS AI Plan
The APS AI Plan was published on 12 November 2025 and outlines how the Australian Public Service intends to adopt, test and govern AI systems across government. While it remains up to agencies to decide whether to enable access to public generative AI on their systems, where approved, Official information can be used with generative AI. The APS AI Plan also establishes expectations for transparency, model testing and evaluation, human oversight, and workforce capability.
The Australian AI Safety Institute
On 25 November 2025 the Commonwealth Government announced it would establish a national AI Safety Institute (AISI). The AISI will strengthen testing, evaluation and oversight of advanced AI systems, coordinate with regulators such as the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner and support risk-based regulatory responses to AI. Australia will also join the International Network of AI Safety Institutes, aligning local practice with comparable efforts in the US, UK, Canada, South Korea and Japan. This marks a major step toward nationally consistent oversight. The Plan commits just under $30 million to fund the AI Safety Institute.
National AI Centre (NAIC)— Guidance for AI Adoption
On 21 October 2025 the NAIC released updated Guidance for AI Adoption, which effectively replaces the earlier Voluntary AI Safety Standard (VAISS). The new guidance articulates the “AI6” — six essential governance practices for AI developers and deployers. These practices establish a practical, accessible baseline for responsible AI use in Australia and will likely become industry best practice. Some Australian orgnaisations have begun uplifting their AI Governance Frameworks to reflect the AI6.
Copyright — Government position on AI training and rights management
At the end of October 2025, the Commonwealth Government confirmed it will not introduce a broad text-and-data-mining exception for AI training. Instead, the Copyright and Artificial Intelligence Reference Group (CAIRG) is progressing work on licensing pathways, guidance on AI-generated content, and stronger protections for creators and rights-holders. This maintains the status quo for training data while pushing towards greater clarity on rights and obligations. For further details in our recent summary: Copyright and AI: Consultation on licensing for AI training.
Sector-specific and cross-government reforms
There are also numerous sector-specific regulatory developments that leaders should consider. For example, the Therapeutic Goods Administration recently published its findings on AI in medical devices, signalling upcoming reforms, including clearer definitions, revised medical device classifications, tightened expectations around mental-health and digital script tools and potential enforcement action for unapproved AI-enabled medical devices. For further details in our recent summary: - TGA publishes consultation findings: AI and medical devices.
Key takeaways for leaders from the National AI Plan
When viewed against the broader policy landscape, the National AI Plan signals that the Australian Government is eager for Australian business to maximise the AI opportunity. What practical steps should leaders take now to strengthen AI governance, lift organisational capability and position itself to maximise the AI opportunity and achieve responsible adoption?
Below, our National AI advisory team outline the top four actions which should be front of mind.
Our national AI Advisory team, outline the top four actions which should be front of mind.
1. Leaders should evaluate and uplift AI Governance to ensure compliance.
Leaders should ensure their AI governance, risk assessment and assurance processes are aligned to privacy, consumer, copyright, workplace and sector-specific obligations, referencing applicable laws and standards such as ISO42001 for assurance and / or the NAIC's AI6 as a practical baseline.
2. Leaders should prioritise transparent and fair workforce engagement as AI adoption accelerates.
Leaders should seek specific employment advice when implementing significant technology transformations to align with award and enterprise obligations. The Plan is explicit that AI use must be consultative, with early involvement of workers and unions where AI may affect job roles, processes or workplace conditions. Sector-specific obligations will also apply.
3. The importance of workforce capability is becoming a defining theme.
AI literacy, technical skills and organisational capacity to evaluate AI systems will increasingly determine whether organisations can adopt AI safely, compliantly and competitively. Leaders should also carefully consider their legal obligations when implementing AI transformations.
4. Recent announcements indicate that the Australian Government is positioning business with reasonable freedom to pursue the AI opportunity, safely in alignment with existing tech-neutral laws.
At the Ministerial Address to the Lowy Institute: Senator the Hon Tim Ayres made it clear, that the Commonwealth Government is strongly supportive of AI innovation, and this innovation will be ‘guided’ by best practice principles, as set out in the NAIC’s AI 6. Organisations should now carefully review their AI strategy – the sky (and existing law) is the limit!
Let’s take the next AI step, together
Whether you’re seeking protection from AI risks or looking to enhance your organisation with ethical and responsible AI, our national AI Advisory team is here to guide you — from insight to strategy to implementation. Contact us today to discuss your unique AI position.
