The Australian Government has released the AI Plan for the Australian Public Service, a joint initiative from DTA, the Department of Finance, and APSC. The Plan establishes three pillars — Trust, People, and Tools — and introduces a suite of concrete governance mechanisms: mandatory Chief AI Officer appointments, accountable officer designations for each AI use case, internal AI registers, mandatory AI impact assessments, and a new DTA-managed AI Review Committee to scrutinise high-risk deployments. A central AI Delivery and Enablement (AIDE) function will be established within Finance to accelerate safe adoption. Minister Gallagher framed the Plan as complementary to responsible use, not a workforce replacement strategy.
Implications
- Implement Agencies could begin appointing a Chief AI Officer and establishing internal AI use case registers and accountable officer designations as required by the Plan.
- Implement Risk and governance teams could prepare AI impact assessment processes ahead of upcoming updates to the Policy for the Responsible Use of AI in Government.
- Monitor Agencies with high-risk AI use cases could monitor DTA's AI Review Committee establishment and understand referral criteria and submission expectations.
Implications are AI-generated. Starting points, not advice.