AI Policy and Governance Newsletter — December 2024
The Australian Senate AI inquiry's final report sets the legislative agenda for a potential Australian AI Act — APS agencies should understand its recommendations now.
Key points
- Good Ancestors' December 2024 newsletter covers three distinct AI policy developments across Australia, Singapore, and Canada.
- Australia's Senate AI inquiry final report recommends dedicated whole-of-economy AI legislation with a risk-based approach.
- Singapore has enacted deepfake election content bans; Canada has announced a national AI Safety Institute with research partners.
Implications for Australian agencies
- Consider Agencies involved in AI governance or automated decision-making could review the Senate inquiry's recommendations, particularly those on ADM safeguards and high-risk AI definitions, to assess alignment with current agency practice.
- Monitor Policy teams may want to monitor whether the Australian Government responds to the Senate report and whether AI legislation is introduced, given the noted political complexity of the process.
- Monitor Agencies working on election integrity or online safety may want to monitor Singapore's deepfake election legislation as a potential model for future Australian action.
Implications are AI-generated. Starting points, not advice — see methodology for how they're framed.
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"AI Policy and Governance Newsletter — December 2024"
Source: Good Ancestors – AI Policy & Governance Newsletter
Published: (undated)
URL: https://www.goodancestors.org.au/newsletter/2024-12
Good Ancestors' December 2024 AI Policy and Governance newsletter covers three developments. First, the Australian Senate Select Committee on Adopting AI released its final report on 26 November 2024, recommending dedicated whole-of-economy AI legislation, risk-based definitions of high-risk AI, automated decision-making safeguards, and sovereign AI capability investment — though the process was complicated by a Coalition dissenting report and additional comments from the Greens and Senator Pocock. Second, Singapore enacted legislation banning AI-manipulated election content during election periods, effective from October 2024. Third, Canada announced the creation of the Canadian AI Safety Institute, led by Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, building on a prior $50M investment and the Bletchley Declaration commitments.
Implications for Australian agencies:
- [Consider] Agencies involved in AI governance or automated decision-making could review the Senate inquiry's recommendations, particularly those on ADM safeguards and high-risk AI definitions, to assess alignment with current agency practice.
- [Monitor] Policy teams may want to monitor whether the Australian Government responds to the Senate report and whether AI legislation is introduced, given the noted political complexity of the process.
- [Monitor] Agencies working on election integrity or online safety may want to monitor Singapore's deepfake election legislation as a potential model for future Australian action.
Retrieved from SIMS, 18 July 2026.