Australia's National AI Plan: What Government Teams Should Do Next
Australia has set a clear direction for AI with the National AI Plan, framed under Future Made in Australia. The intent is simple: build and adopt trusted, world-class AI that includes every community, not just big business or capital cities. The sector welcomes it. The next test is delivery-especially on energy efficiency and infrastructure.
What the Plan Puts on the Table
- Goals: capture opportunities, spread benefits, and keep Australians safe.
- Funding: $29.9 million to establish an AI Safety Institute by early 2026, plus more than $460 million across existing AI programs.
- Delivery: coordination through the National AI Centre and the AI Adopt Centre network; continuation of the $17 million AI Adopt Program.
- Inclusion: targeted support for SMEs, regional communities, and people at risk of digital exclusion.
- Skills: AI literacy programs across schools, TAFEs, community groups, and partnerships with industry, unions, and the education sector to protect workplace rights.
"AI will help close gaps in essential services, improve education and employment outcomes and create well paid jobs in future industries," said Minister for Industry and Innovation Tim Ayres. The message to the public sector: make the benefits concrete, measurable, and shared.
Industry's Read: Support-with Urgency on Skills and Trust
New research shows many Australians don't feel ready for AI. Datacom managing director Laura Malcolm called the plan a critical step for productivity, noting the rise of agentic AI. Her caution: without coordinated action on skills and confidence, adoption will stall. "That means fair, explainable, human-centred systems supported by the right guardrails."
From the factory floor to logistics, ARM Hub's Cori Stewart said the Plan's investment in local infrastructure and the GovAI framework addresses core security concerns. By coordinating the AI Adopt Centre network under the NAIC and maintaining the AI Adopt Program, SMEs get practical support that reduces barriers larger firms can absorb.
The Energy Efficiency Gap the Plan Must Close
AI's growth runs straight through data centres. Equinix Australia's Guy Danskine pointed to tech-agnostic principles that let operators choose solutions suited to local conditions. Priorities include renewable energy (onsite and PPAs), water usage and the energy-water trade-off, workforce development, connectivity, and demand flexibility.
Pure Storage APJ's Mark Jobbins went further: Australia needs national standards that re-engineer data-centre infrastructure around energy efficiency. Policymakers will have to balance growth with grid constraints, align standards across states, and reward efficiency in planning approvals-not just capacity. "Energy is becoming the new currency of digital progress," he said, urging every AI strategy to include transparent, accountable energy-sustainability policies, including site design and location.
NextDC CEO Craig Scroggie put it bluntly: "AI is now constrained by infrastructure, not algorithms." In 2024, Australia saw more than $10 billion in data-centre investment (second only to the United States), $700 million in private AI investment, and over 1,500 AI companies operating locally. The Plan supports sovereign capability, but three areas need tighter handling: infrastructure and energy, sovereign capability, and oversight and regulation.
What Government Agencies Can Do Now
- Set clear guardrails: adopt trustworthy AI principles, define risk tiers, and embed procurement clauses for model transparency, data provenance, evaluation methods, and incident reporting.
- Link AI to energy plans: require suppliers to disclose PUE/WUE targets, renewable energy mix, and demand-response capabilities. Prefer PPAs or onsite renewables for energy-intensive workloads.
- Invest in skills: fund baseline AI literacy for public servants and role-based upskilling for policy, procurement, legal, ICT, and service delivery teams. Partner with NAIC, TAFEs, and credible external providers.
- Support SMEs and regions: route grants and technical assistance via AI Adopt Centres, simplify applications, and ensure accessibility standards. Prioritise use cases that lift essential services.
- Pilot, measure, publish: run small, time-boxed pilots with clear service metrics and cost baselines. Require independent ethics review for high-risk deployments.
- Coordinate across jurisdictions: align data-centre approvals, energy standards, and reporting templates through intergovernmental processes to reduce duplication and delays.
Details to Lock In for the Next Iteration
- National, enforceable data-centre efficiency standards (e.g., PUE/WUE bands, renewable thresholds, demand flexibility).
- State alignment and fast-track approvals that reward efficiency and location choices near renewables and transmission.
- Clear scope for the GovAI framework: auditing, red-teaming, model evaluation, and public reporting requirements.
- Targeted funding for regional connectivity and skills so benefits reach beyond major metros.
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