26/11/2025
On 12 November 2025, the Australian Government released the AI Plan for the Australian Public Service. The Plan aims to improve efficiency and productivity in the APS by substantially increasing its use of AI in the next 18 months. It includes 15 initiatives under 3 mutually reinforcing pillars (Trust, People, and Tools) which aim to:
- build on existing security and privacy safeguards governing the use of ICT and data;
- support all APS staff to use AI effectively, safety, and appropriately; and
- and ensure that APS staff can access AI tools.
What AI services will APS staff have access to?
APS staff will have access to a centralised AI hosting service called GovAI which is currently available to all APS staff through an open trial period. GovAI will be complimented by a generative AI tool called GovAI Chat which will be trialed in mid-2026.
Public and enterprise level AI services, such as ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini, will be available to APS staff to use via web browsers. Information up to OFFICIAL level can be input into these AI services.
What about AI governance?
There will be a new AI Review Committee with whole-of-government oversight of the deployment across the APS. This committee will provide advice and non-binding recommendations to agencies on high-risk AI use cases, as well as conducting deep dives into emerging AI risks and ethics issues.
A multidisciplinary team called AI delivery and enablement (AIDE) will be stood up. AIDE will take the lead in accelerating the uptake of AI by tacking common adoption barriers, navigating and reducing complex compliance uncertainties raised by AI, and identifying and sharing lessons.
Existing policies, including the Digital Transformation Agency’s Policy for the responsible use of AI in government, will be updated. The updated DTA policy will impose a range of new requirements on non-corporate Commonwealth entities including a requirement to develop a strategic position on AI adoption and communicate this position to staff, assign an accountable officer to each in-scope AI use case, and record in-scope AI use cases on an internal register. There will also be a new whole-of-government cloud policy, a central register of generative AI assessments, and updated AI clauses in the Commonwealth contracting suite and Clause bank.
What does this mean for APS staff?
All APS staff will be required to upskill in AI by undertaking mandatory foundational AI training within 12 months. Ongoing learning will be facilitated through live webinars and resources such as newsletters. A Senior Executive Chief AI Officer (CAIO) in each agency will drive AI adoption and advocate for change within their agency.
What should agencies do?
For now, all agencies should familiarise themselves with the initiatives in the AI Plan.
Non-corporate Commonwealth entities should prepare to comply with new obligations under the updated Policy for the responsible use of AI in government as outlined in the AI Plan. Publication of the updated policy is expected next month.
If you have any questions or would like more information about how this may impact you, contact our expert privacy and governance team to discuss further.