AI Policy and Governance Newsletter — December 2025
Two major Australian AI governance documents and a new safety institute have landed simultaneously - APS teams need to orient their work against these frameworks now.
Key points
- Australia's AI Safety Institute announced with $30m funding, beginning operations in early 2026.
- National AI Plan and APS AI Plan 2025 released, taking a guidance-over-guardrails approach - both directly relevant to APS practitioners.
- ANU survey found 77% of Australians rate AI attacks on people and businesses as a major or moderate threat - the top-ranked national security concern.
Summary
Australia's December 2025 AI policy environment shifted significantly with the release of the National AI Plan, the APS AI Plan 2025, and the announcement of an Australian AI Safety Institute with $30 million in initial funding. The AISI fulfils a Seoul AI Summit commitment and will begin operating in early 2026 as a cross-government AI safety hub. The National AI Plan takes an opportunity-first, voluntary approach that has drawn industry support but criticism from the Government's own AI Expert Group over strategic clarity and regulatory adequacy. Separately, an ANU survey found AI-related threats rank as Australians' top national security concern, while industry surveys identify security risks, trust deficits, and regulatory uncertainty as barriers to AI adoption.
Implications for Australian agencies
- Implement APS Agencies could review the APS AI Plan 2025 and align their internal AI strategies and governance arrangements with its stated priorities and the GovAI platform.
- Consider Policy and governance teams could assess how the National AI Plan's guidance-over-guardrails stance affects their existing AI risk frameworks and whether identified regulatory gaps require internal policy responses.
- Monitor Agencies with AI safety, security, or public trust remits may want to monitor AISI's establishment and early work program, given its mandate to advise on legislation and coordinate government-wide action.
Implications are AI-generated. Starting points, not advice.
"AI Policy and Governance Newsletter — December 2025" Source: Good Ancestors – AI Policy & Governance Newsletter Published: (undated) URL: https://www.goodancestors.org.au/newsletter/2025-12 Australia's December 2025 AI policy environment shifted significantly with the release of the National AI Plan, the APS AI Plan 2025, and the announcement of an Australian AI Safety Institute with $30 million in initial funding. The AISI fulfils a Seoul AI Summit commitment and will begin operating in early 2026 as a cross-government AI safety hub. The National AI Plan takes an opportunity-first, voluntary approach that has drawn industry support but criticism from the Government's own AI Expert Group over strategic clarity and regulatory adequacy. Separately, an ANU survey found AI-related threats rank as Australians' top national security concern, while industry surveys identify security risks, trust deficits, and regulatory uncertainty as barriers to AI adoption. Implications for Australian agencies: - [Implement] APS Agencies could review the APS AI Plan 2025 and align their internal AI strategies and governance arrangements with its stated priorities and the GovAI platform. - [Consider] Policy and governance teams could assess how the National AI Plan's guidance-over-guardrails stance affects their existing AI risk frameworks and whether identified regulatory gaps require internal policy responses. - [Monitor] Agencies with AI safety, security, or public trust remits may want to monitor AISI's establishment and early work program, given its mandate to advise on legislation and coordinate government-wide action. Retrieved from SIMS, 18 May 2026.