AustraliaAI regulation

Regulation Status

• ❗️ This tracker only tracks developments at the Commonwealth (federal) level.
• The Australian Government has announced plans for mandatory “Australian Standards for AI” and the creation of an Office of AI. The standards remain in development: the Government has set an end-2026 target, and National Cabinet has agreed to a nationally consistent framework by early 2027, including mandatory standards for large data centres. Copyright is under separate review; these announced plans are not yet binding rules.
• Mandatory AI governance obligations now apply within the Commonwealth public sector. From 15 June 2026, under the DTA's Policy for the Responsible Use of AI in Government (Version 2.0), non-corporate Commonwealth entities must maintain internal registers of in-scope AI use cases with accountable owners, publish standardised AI transparency statements, and ensure foundational AI literacy training for Australian Public Service staff; further obligations on impact assessments, oversight processes and incident reporting are scheduled to commence in December 2026. Federal AI ethics principles and a national AI assurance framework are available; NSW has a separate mandatory framework for state agencies.
• Online safety enforcement is active against AI-generated sexual and child-safety harms. By June 2026, eSafety Commissioner action under the Online Safety Act and Age-Restricted Material codes had resulted in seven widely used AI “nudify” services withdrawing from Australia or taking compliance measures; eSafety is also examining gatekeeper services and may pursue civil penalties for non-compliance.
• On 15 October 2026, the Minister for Communications introduced the Online Safety Amendment (Digital Duty of Care) Bill 2026 in the House of Representatives. The bill would replace non-enforceable expectations with a statutory duty requiring online service providers, including services that let users generate and share material using AI, to take appropriate action to mitigate identified risks. It would also require social media services to protect children under 16 from specified harmful design features and let users opt out of algorithmic feeds. The bill is proposed legislation, not yet binding; its provisions would commence 12 months after Royal Assent.