APS AI Plan 2025: A decisive step for Australia's public sector
Australia is moving fast on AI at the whole-of-government level. The APS AI Plan 2025 sets a clear standard: foundational AI training for every public servant, secure access to GovAI Chat, and Chief AI Officers in every agency by 31 July 2026.
This isn't a tech fad. It's a response to fragmented strategies, inconsistent governance, and uneven capability that slow delivery. The plan is built to modernise operations, lift service standards, and cement ethical AI practices across government.
What's changing
- Mandatory AI literacy for all APS staff begins November-December 2025.
- GovAI Chat becomes the secure, default generative AI environment.
- Chief AI Officers appointed in every agency by 31 July 2026.
- GovAI Chat expansion and capability uplift continue through 2026.
The tools and guardrails
- GovAI Chat: A government-controlled generative AI platform running on Australian sovereign infrastructure. Data stays in-country, under government control.
- AI Delivery and Enablement (AIDE) Team: Cross-government support for implementation, patterns, and shared playbooks.
- Unified Cloud Policy: A whole-of-government approach that standardises secure AI operations and procurement.
Who's leading it
The Department of Finance leads policy and governance, working closely with the Digital Transformation Agency (DTA) on platform delivery and the Australian Public Service Commission (APSC) on workforce capability and training.
Department of Finance * Digital Transformation Agency
What APS leaders should do now
- Nominate an interim Chief AI Officer and define remit, reporting, and risk ownership.
- Enroll all staff in foundational AI training; track completion by December 2025.
- Stand up an AI working group spanning ICT, data, legal, privacy, security, and HR.
- Identify a top-10 use case list per division; start with low-risk, back-office tasks.
- Publish prompt-use guidelines, data handling rules, and human-in-the-loop review steps.
- Align contracts and vendor access with the Unified Cloud Policy and GovAI standards.
Expected benefits
- Lower administrative workload through AI-assisted drafting, analysis, and routine automation.
- Faster policy development and improved quality of analysis.
- Streamlined processes without compromising security.
- Quicker responses to citizen requests and reduced burden on frontline teams.
What Chief AI Officers will be accountable for
- Agency-wide AI literacy and capability uplift, including role-based training.
- Risk, ethics, privacy, and accountability frameworks aligned with whole-of-government policy.
- Use-case pipeline, benefits tracking, and measurable outcomes.
- Secure rollout and adoption of GovAI Chat and approved AI tooling.
Practical first-use cases
- Brief drafting and version control for QTBs, speeches, and ministerial responses.
- Policy scanning, summarisation, and options analysis.
- RFI/RFP drafting, boilerplate assembly, and compliance checks.
- Records tagging, metadata generation, and meeting notes to actions.
- Inbox triage and citizen response drafting with mandated review steps.
Milestones
- Nov-Dec 2025: Mandatory AI literacy training begins for all APS employees.
- By 31 July 2026: Chief AI Officers appointed in every agency.
- 2026: GovAI Chat expansion and wider operational use.
Risks and how to reduce them
- Model inaccuracies: Keep humans in the loop for external outputs; mandate review checklists.
- Data exposure: Route sensitive work through GovAI Chat; restrict external plug-ins and unmanaged tools.
- Bias and drift: Schedule periodic evaluations; apply AIDE Team guidance and shared test sets.
- Shadow IT: Provide sanctioned access early and publish clear approval pathways.
How success will be measured
- Cycle time reduction for briefs, cabinet materials, and citizen responses.
- Training completion rates and uplift in practitioner capability.
- Share of approved workloads running through GovAI Chat.
- Quantified admin time saved and redeployed to higher-value work.
Where to build capability
If your team needs a structured starting point for role-specific upskilling, see curated options by job function: Complete AI Training - Courses by Job.
Bottom line
The APS AI Plan 2025 sets clear expectations and gives agencies the tools to deliver. With training, GovAI Chat, the AIDE Team, and a unified policy backbone, agencies can cut friction, lift service quality, and keep data secure. The path is defined-execution starts now.
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