Victoria sets sights on becoming Australia's AI capital
Victoria has laid out a clear ambition: become the nation's AI capital. The state's new AI Mission Statement sets a practical agenda to lift productivity, grow local industry, and support workers as AI becomes embedded in day-to-day operations.
The plan focuses on AI that is used responsibly, inclusively, and for public value. It blends new initiatives with existing policies, and signals where Victoria will push the Commonwealth for national reforms.
What's in the AI Mission Statement
- Investment attraction and adoption: Help industry bring AI into core workflows and de-risk adoption.
- Data centres and digital infrastructure: Plan for land, water, energy, and security needs without blowing out costs or timelines.
- Local innovation, products and services: Back Victorian IP, startups, and suppliers.
- Talent and workforce: Upskill workers and support transitions into AI-enabled roles.
- Ethical AI use: Embed safety, transparency, and inclusion.
- Public sector adoption: Lift service delivery, compliance, and productivity across agencies.
A new $8.1 million 'Digital Jobs - AI Career Conversation' program will help workers move into AI-enabled roles. The government will also set principles for employers preparing for AI adoption and explore supports for groups of workers displaced by automation.
Data centres and infrastructure
Victoria's $5.5 million Sustainable Data Centre Action Plan aims to balance fast access to land, water, and energy with long-term security and sustainability. The state will use data on transport, energy, and water to identify suitable locations and reduce unintended strain on local services.
Workforce supply is part of the plan. Partnerships with TAFEs will build the technicians and operators needed to run modern facilities and associated operations.
National asks
Victoria will lobby for a migration system that is accessible to people with new and hard-to-find AI skills. It also wants a national network for high-performance computing and AI-linking skills, infrastructure, and research-so states aren't duplicating investments.
The statement points to a potential $30 billion lift to gross state product in the next decade from AI-driven productivity gains, new products and services, and increased labour capacity.
Leadership signals
"We're embracing AI with the same bold ambition that has made Victoria a global innovation leader, paving the way for our state to become the nation's capital of AI," said Minister for Economic Growth and Jobs Danny Pearson. The Premier frames AI as a cross-sector shift touching education, research, and creative industries-and says Victoria is ready to lead.
Competitive pressure from NSW
The NSW Opposition has used Victoria's move to pressure its own government, arguing that planning delays and energy uncertainty are turning data centre investors south. The message is simple: jurisdictions that move first, set clear rules, and give market certainty will attract capital.
What this means for public sector leaders
- Set direction: Define where AI can lift outcomes in your portfolio (case handling, permits, asset management, compliance).
- Skill up: Build AI literacy from executives to frontline teams. Pair training with hands-on pilots so skills stick.
- Protect people: Map roles at risk, plan transitions, and create clear pathways into new positions.
- Data first: Invest in data quality, access controls, and privacy-by-design. Poor data equals poor models.
- Procure better: Update procurement to assess model quality, security, auditability, and energy use.
- Ethics and assurance: Stand up lightweight governance-model registers, risk assessments, and human-in-the-loop for high-stakes decisions.
- Infrastructure: Coordinate with energy, water, and planning teams early for data centre approvals and load forecasting.
- Measure outcomes: Track time saved, error rates, satisfaction, and cost-to-serve-not just pilot counts.
How to get ready now
- Create a cross-agency AI working group with a 90-day delivery plan.
- Run two pilots: one service-facing (e.g., guided triage) and one back office (e.g., document summarisation) with ethics sign-off.
- Stand up a small AI assurance function to review models, prompts, and vendor claims.
- Secure skills pipelines with TAFEs and universities; fund micro-credentials for priority roles.
- Engage early with Treasury and central agencies to align funding, risk, and whole-of-government reuse.
Why this matters
AI is now a capacity issue for government-service quality, wait times, workforce pressure, and budget discipline. Jurisdictions that give clear policy signals, invest in skills, and sort infrastructure constraints will pull ahead.
Victoria has set its intent. The opportunity for agencies is to turn that intent into delivery-measured, ethical, and outcomes-focused.
Useful resources
- AI courses by job role for building targeted capability across public sector functions.
- Latest AI courses to upskill teams quickly with practical, applied learning.
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