Australia’s New AI Framework: What Businesses Need to Know

In fact, the Albanese Government has made it clear that it sees AI as an important economic opportunity for Australia. Its National AI Plan is focused on increasing AI adoption, attracting investment and developing Australia’s AI capability while creating a regulatory framework designed to give businesses and the community greater confidence in how the technology is used.

But as AI develops, so does the law surrounding it.

And Australian businesses should start paying attention.

What is the Albanese Government proposing?

Australia’s approach to AI regulation has been developing for several years.

In 2024, the Government released proposals for mandatory guardrails for AI used in high-risk settings, together with a Voluntary AI Safety Standard.

At the time, the Government said businesses were asking for greater clarity so they could confidently take advantage of AI. The proposed guardrails were therefore intended not only to manage potential harm, but also to increase trust and provide businesses with greater regulatory certainty.

The Government’s approach has since developed considerably. In December 2025, it released its National AI Plan, built around three objectives: capturing the opportunities created by AI, spreading its benefits throughout Australia and keeping Australians safe.

Then, in July 2026, the Albanese Government announced a new Australian AI framework and established an Office of AI within the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.

The Office of AI has been tasked with coordinating work across government to design and legislate new Australian AI standards. The Government has indicated that these standards are expected to be legislated in early 2027.

This is significant because Australia’s approach is increasingly moving from a discussion about whether AI should be regulated to a much more practical question: What should the rules governing AI in Australia actually look like?

Copyright is becoming an important part of that discussion

One of the most interesting issues for Australian businesses is copyright.

Generative AI systems are trained using enormous amounts of information. That has created an international debate about when copyrighted material can be used to train AI systems and whether creators should be compensated or have greater control over how their work is used.

In October 2025, the Albanese Government confirmed that it would not introduce a broad Text and Data Mining Exception into Australian copyright law.

Such an exception could have allowed AI developers to use copyrighted works for AI training without first obtaining permission from rights holders in circumstances covered by the exception.

Instead, the Government asked its Copyright and AI Reference Group to examine three areas:

fair and legal mechanisms for using copyrighted material in AI, including possible licensing arrangements;

greater certainty around how copyright applies to material generated using AI; and

potentially cheaper ways of enforcing copyright rights, including consideration of a small claims forum.

The Government’s position is therefore not simply that AI presents a copyright risk. It is attempting to find a framework that allows Australia to benefit from AI innovation while continuing to protect intellectual property and compensate creators appropriately.

That distinction is important for businesses.

What does this mean for Australian businesses?

AI isn’t inherently a problem for business.

Used well, it can be an extremely useful business tool.

It can improve productivity, reduce repetitive administrative work, assist with research, help businesses analyse information and create entirely new products, services and ways of working.

The Government itself has recognised the scale of that opportunity. Its policy is directed towards increasing AI adoption and investment while building public confidence in the technology. The legal question is increasingly about how businesses use AI, rather than whether they should use it at all.

For example, businesses may need to think about what information employees are entering into AI systems, whether confidential or personal information is adequately protected, what rights apply to AI-generated material and whether third-party intellectual property may be incorporated into an output.

Businesses that develop or deploy AI systems may face additional obligations as Australia’s regulatory framework evolves.

Your business may own more intellectual property than you realise.

The copyright discussion isn’t relevant only to publishers, musicians, artists or global technology companies.

Businesses create intellectual property every day: website copy, photographs, videos, training materials, reports, research, software, designs, presentations, marketing campaigns and other original content can all represent significant investment and commercial value.

As AI becomes more capable of analysing and generating content, businesses should understand what intellectual property they own and how that material is being made available or used.

The Government’s decision not to introduce a broad Text and Data Mining Exception is particularly relevant here. It signals an intention to maintain strong copyright protections while government, technology companies and rights holders work through what lawful AI training and licensing arrangements might look like in Australia.

Is using AI plagiarism?

Not necessarily.

Plagiarism and copyright infringement are also not the same thing. It generally describes presenting somebody else’s work or ideas as your own. Copyright infringement is a legal question involving the rights granted to copyright owners under copyright law.

An AI-generated output could potentially resemble existing material without necessarily amounting to copyright infringement. Conversely, the processes involved in developing, training or using an AI system can raise separate copyright questions.

This is one of the reasons the Government’s Copyright and AI Reference Group is examining whether Australian copyright law needs greater clarity around material created using AI.

AI regulation is broader than copyright

Copyright is only one part of Australia’s emerging AI framework.

In July 2026, the Government also announced a series of AI consumer safety priorities covering areas including privacy, consumer protection, automated decision-making and AI safety in the workplace.

Large AI data centres are another focus. The proposed Australian standards are expected to address issues such as electricity supply, connection costs, water efficiency and where large data centres are located. The Government has presented these measures as a way of encouraging AI investment while ensuring that its infrastructure costs and impacts are appropriately managed.

Taken together, these developments show that Australia is beginning to build a much broader regulatory environment around AI rather than relying on a single piece of “AI legislation”.

What should businesses do now?

There is no reason for Australian businesses to stop using AI simply because regulation is developing.

But this is a good time to start treating AI governance as part of normal business governance.

Businesses should understand which AI platforms are being used across their organisation, what employees are putting into those systems, how confidential and personal information is being handled, what intellectual property the business owns and how important AI-generated material is reviewed before being relied upon commercially.

It is also worth reviewing your AI policy regularly.

This area is developing quickly. Government policy, legislation, regulatory guidance and the terms applying to individual AI platforms can all change.

A policy written today shouldn’t simply be placed in a folder and forgotten.

The opportunity and the rules are developing together

Perhaps the most important point about the Albanese Government’s approach is that this isn’t an attempt to portray AI as inherently bad for Australian business.

Quite the opposite.

The Government wants greater AI adoption, investment and capability in Australia. At the same time, it is trying to establish rules around copyright, privacy, safety, infrastructure and accountability so businesses and Australians can use the technology with greater confidence.

For businesses, that makes this an area worth watching.

AI is moving quickly. The legal framework around it is now moving too.

If your business is adopting AI, developing an AI policy or wants to understand how the changing legal landscape could affect your intellectual property, privacy or commercial arrangements, speak with the team at Quest Legal.