Source: ABC News

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will use a speech in Sydney to announce the end of the federal government's "issue-by-issue" approach to artificial intelligence and to set out a plan to make AI work in Australia's interest by creating a national framework. He will establish an Office of AI within the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet to coordinate the design of "Australian standards" for the technology and to bring together work across ministers and departments on data centres, defence and national security, copyright, schools and workforce impacts. The move is framed as a response to community concerns about data centre developments, workplace automation and protections for artists.

The announcement recognises that states and territories have adopted fragmented approaches to attracting and approving data centres and signals a greater federal role to deliver national consistency, faster approvals and clearer compliance verification. The prime minister is not expected to announce a dramatic change to copyright law despite reports that Anthropic has sought Australia as a training base for its AI model contingent on copyright access; Attorney-General Michelle Rowland has said Australia has no plans for a text and data mining exemption. The government highlighted missed deadlines by federal agencies on AI transparency, discussed options such as a single creative compensation fund, and faced criticism from the opposition that the new office amounts to internal bureaucracy.