Australia has officially released its National AI Plan 2025, a sweeping, whole-of-government strategy positioning the country as a responsible AI leader in the Indo-Pacific. The 78-page plan lays out a comprehensive framework to accelerate AI adoption, strengthen sovereign capability, and ensure that AI systems remain safe, fair and beneficial for all Australians. For the global AI governance community, this plan marks one of the most detailed and balanced national blueprints released this year—combining investment, infrastructure, skills, inclusion, and safety under one cohesive policy umbrella.
At its core, the plan is built on three pillars: capturing opportunities, spreading the benefits, and keeping Australians safe. Together, these pillars reflect the Albanese Government’s central message: AI should “work for people, not the other way around.”
A Vision Grounded in Infrastructure, Sovereignty, and Global Competitiveness
The plan begins by acknowledging Australia’s existing strengths: a thriving AI industry with over 1,500 companies, world-class research output representing nearly 2% of global AI publications, and a fast-growing pool of AI-skilled workers. In 2024 alone, Australia attracted $10 billion in data centre investments, ranking second globally after the United States.
With the compute race intensifying across the world, the government’s first major action area—“Build smart infrastructure”—aims to ensure Australia has the physical and digital backbone required to stay competitive. Significant emphasis is placed on expanding high-speed connectivity, strengthening cybersecurity, and guiding the rapid growth of data centres through national data centre principles that prioritise sustainability, renewable energy use, and secure operations.
The numbers make clear why this is urgent: Australian data centres consumed around 4 TWh of electricity in 2024 (2% of the National Electricity Market), and demand is projected to triple by 2030. The plan highlights advanced cooling, sovereign compute, energy security, and climate-aligned data infrastructure as core national priorities.
Major tech players are already responding to Australia’s positioning. Recent multi-billion-dollar announcements include:
- Microsoft – $5 billion
- Amazon – $20 billion
- Firmus – up to $73.3 billion
These investments reinforce Australia’s ambition to become a trusted, low-risk, high-security AI hub in the Indo-Pacific.
Backing Australian Capability and Attracting Investment
Beyond infrastructure, the plan outlines a strategic shift toward sovereign AI capability through local model development, national datasets, and targeted investment. With more than $460 million already committed to AI-related initiatives including ARC grants, Next Generation Graduates, and the National AI Centre, the government plans to go further with a specialised AI Accelerator funding round under the Cooperative Research Centres (CRC) program.
Sovereign datasets and AI built within Australian cultural, linguistic and environmental contexts also receive strong attention. The government plans to expand access to high-quality public datasets, including ABS economic datasets and unstructured government data, while supporting mechanisms that allow private sector participation under strong privacy and security rules.
This is complemented by Australia’s stance on data sovereignty for First Nations peoples. AI projects involving Indigenous data must follow Indigenous data sovereignty principles, ensuring Traditional Owners retain control over how data is collected, used and shared. Examples like the Kakadu wetlands AI project, where machine learning is combined with Indigenous knowledge reflect this commitment.
Ensuring AI Benefits All Australians: SMEs, Not-for-Profits, and Regional Communities
A key differentiator of the National AI Plan is its strong focus on inclusion and equity. The government explicitly recognises that AI adoption cannot reinforce digital divides—especially for regional, remote, First Nations, women, people with disability, mature-aged workers and low-income communities.
Currently, only 29% of regional organisations are adopting AI compared with 40% in metropolitan areas. Similarly, nearly 40% of First Nations people remain digitally excluded. The plan treats this not as an economic challenge, but a fundamental equity issue.
To close these gaps, the government is scaling the role of the National AI Centre (NAIC), strengthening the AI Adopt Program, and expanding First Nations digital mentors and support hubs. New partnerships—such as the NAIC-Infoxchange AI Learning Community—are already supporting over 20,000 not-for-profits.
Workforce development is another central priority. With demand for AI-skilled workers tripling since 2015, the plan outlines:
- New microcredentials in Responsible AI
- VET-integrated digital and AI learning
- AI skills accelerators for teachers and trainers
- Employer-supported upskilling requirements
- Union consultation in workplace AI adoption
- Clear workplace protections against discriminatory or opaque algorithmic systems
This holistic labour market focus aims to ensure workers share in the productivity gains of AI, rather than being displaced by it.
AI in Public Services: A Whole-of-Government Transformation
The National AI Plan is complemented by the recently released AI Plan for the Australian Public Service (APS). This mandate transforms government from passive regulator to proactive user and model citizen of responsible AI adoption. Each federal agency will appoint a Chief AI Officer, receive access to GovAI secure platforms, and ensure AI is deployed ethically, transparently, and with human accountability for decisions.
Examples already in progress include:
- Veterans’ Affairs AI search tools
- National Library AI transcription
- Drone-AI monitoring in Tiwi Islands
- GenAI teaching pilots in schools
The emphasis is on enhanced public value rather than automation for its own sake.
Keeping Australians Safe: Building One of the World’s Most Comprehensive AI Safety Frameworks
Perhaps the most globally significant component of the plan is Australia’s approach to AI safety and regulation.
The country is establishing a dedicated AI Safety Institute (AISI) to analyse emerging model capabilities, test risks, coordinate sectoral regulators, and collaborate internationally with bodies such as the International Network of AI Safety Institutes.
Australia has deliberately rejected a one-size-fits-all AI law. Instead, it will:
- Strengthen existing legal frameworks
- Update privacy and copyright law
- Address AI-enabled abuse and deepfake harms
- Regulate AI medical devices
- Tackle national security vulnerabilities
- Expand consumer law to cover AI-enabled products
- Work toward clearer standards for AI transparency
The government’s recent decision to reject a text and data mining exception in copyright law was also reaffirmed in this plan, ensuring strong protections for creators.
A Global Approach to AI Governance
Australia positions itself as a “responsible middle power” in global AI governance, committing to deepening collaboration with partners across the Indo-Pacific. This includes ongoing participation in:
- Bletchley Declaration
- Seoul Declaration
- Paris AI Safety Statement
- Hiroshima AI Process
- UN Global Digital Compact
- Global Partnership on AI (GPAI)
The plan emphasises interoperability with global standards, reflecting the importance of aligned governance in areas such as transparency, safety testing, and cross-border data flows.
Conclusion: A Future-Focused, People-Centred AI Strategy
Australia’s National AI Plan 2025 stands out for its balanced, pragmatic and inclusive design. It recognises AI as both a national opportunity and a national responsibility requiring world-class infrastructure, sovereign capability, clear regulation, trusted public services, and equitable access across every community.
As nations worldwide race to regulate and harness AI, Australia’s plan offers a grounded, socially conscious blueprint, one that other middle-power democracies may well look to as a model.