Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will establish a new Office of Artificial Intelligence within his department as the Federal Government moves to centralise Australia’s response to the rapidly expanding technology.

The Office of AI will sit inside the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet and coordinate policy across areas including investment, data centres, copyright, national security, education and jobs.

Albanese is expected to formally announce the office during a speech in Sydney today (15 July), arguing the government must move beyond its existing “issue-by-issue, sector-by-sector” approach.

The government claims Australia will be the first country to bring the economic, social, security and environmental impacts of AI under a single national framework.

The office will work closely with Industry and Innovation Minister Tim Ayres and Assistant Minister for Science, Technology and the Digital Economy Andrew Charlton to develop new Australian AI standards and coordinate work already underway across government.

Albanese said a more consistent approach could also make Australia more attractive to international investors by delivering faster approvals, clearer requirements and a streamlined compliance process.

The framework is expected to cover the rapidly growing data centre sector, where states and territories currently apply different planning and approval processes.

Charlton said Australia wanted to attract AI investment that benefited local communities without repeating overseas examples where data centres had placed pressure on electricity grids and water supplies.

The government is also facing pressure over copyright laws as AI companies seek greater access to Australian books, music, journalism and other creative works for model training.

Charlton said Labor would not support a broad text and data mining exemption allowing technology companies to use copyrighted material without consent or compensation.

The announcement has been welcomed cautiously by some crossbenchers, although Community Strong Australia MP Allegra Spender said the government should have acted sooner.

Opposition Leader Angus Taylor criticised the move as additional bureaucracy, while opposition digital economy spokesman Aaron Violi said the office was “three years too late”.

The new office will also coordinate responses to AI-related national security threats, including the use of generative technology by extremists and foreign state actors to create propaganda and spread disinformation.

More to follow