Adopting Artificial Intelligence (AI) to deliver for Australians
Introduction
The challenge
Artificial intelligence (AI), particularly generative AI, is revolutionising the way we do business and has the potential to transform the way governments deliver for the communities they serve. Yet, as with any transformation, there are barriers to adoption relating to culture, trust, and resourcing. Our challenge is to overcome these hurdles and facilitate timely adoption to deliver better outcomes for the Australian people.
The vision
The AI Plan for the Australian Public Service (APS) will improve government service delivery, policy outcomes, efficiency, and productivity through substantially increasing the use of AI in government.
Every public servant will have the training and guidance required to use generative AI safely and responsibly, alongside secure access to generative AI tools, and every agency will have a Chief AI Officer to drive adoption, with AI use tracked and reported on.
The Australian Government is focused on capturing the opportunity of AI. It’s vital to ensure the benefits of this technology are shared equitably, creating a higher standard of living for all Australians.
To do this, we are broadening the safe and responsible use of AI by government agencies. By focusing on improving the AI maturity of the public sector, we can unlock the benefits of this technology while minimising the potential for harm.
In practice this means faster, more consistent government services, enhanced policy advice and a more capable workforce.
Taking an adaptive and collaborative approach
Generative AI capabilities are increasingly embedded across digital infrastructure including search engines, enterprise tools and everyday consumer services, often without explicitly notifying users. This ubiquitous integration creates both opportunities and governance challenges for government agencies.
The technology is also advancing rapidly. The plan establishes the foundations for government action, and will iterate and adapt to realise future opportunities in a changing technology environment. Throughout this process, we will continue to engage with our employees and their unions. It is vital that we listen to our people on how best to adopt AI, where the benefits can be achieved, what problems we can solve for them and the community, and what concerns they have. We will manage this transition in an inclusive way that leverages the experience and expertise of our people.
We will also work to enhance cross-sector collaboration between government, industry, community and academia to accelerate the spread of technological expertise and innovation. This will build trust through transparency and codesign, while ensuring initiatives remain people centred and responsive to real world needs. Active engagement through hackathons, participation in collaborative initiatives like the AI CoLab and other innovative approaches create space for new solutions and capability building, driving innovation in partnership with the private sector, research organisations and state and territory governments.
Adopting Artificial Intelligence (AI) to deliver for Australians
Objectives
To uplift AI maturity across the public sector, this plan targets the following objectives:
- Improving AI literacy – As AI becomes increasingly widespread and available, everyone in government needs basic AI literacy and training.
- Leading by example – The government has an important role to play in modelling responsible and ethical AI adoption. We need to understand the technology, know how we can benefit from it and support public servants to use it safely and appropriately.
- Expanding generative AI use – Current levels of AI adoption are inconsistent. Improving our AI maturity means broadening the safe, responsible use of generative AI to all agencies.
- Coordinating government’s approach – AI transformation needs to be coordinated across the pillars of trust, people and tools. We’ve learned that it’s not enough to provide the technology – people need training and support to adopt AI in a considered way.
- Driving systemic adoption – Advancing AI maturity requires a coordinated program of projects and investments to support systemic change – removing barriers and accelerating adoption for all agencies.
It is only by uplifting AI maturity that we can expect this technology to deliver meaningful productivity gains. The Productivity Commission assesses that broader AI adoption could drive up to 4.3 per cent labour productivity growth over the next decade in the market sector (around $116 billion in GDP).
Significant increases are also expected to accrue to the public sector, which has been associated with low productivity growth in recent years. By 2030, AI adoption could lift public sector gross value added by 13 per cent, delivering $19 billion in annual value (Merom, 2025).
The Australian Government is one of the nation’s largest employers. The policies we establish for the public sector will play a pivotal role in shaping the adoption of AI across the economy and unlocking the associated benefits.
Scope and deliverables
The scope of this plan is limited to initiatives that focus on the adoption and use of AI by government agencies. It does not apply to industry or personal use of these technologies.
While these initiatives focus primarily on generative AI, the plan is not strictly limited to these applications. As new opportunities emerge, other uses of AI may be incorporated into initiatives.
Specific deliverables are detailed within individual initiatives (see Appendix A). These initiatives are organised into three mutually reinforcing pillars, around which the plan is structured:
- Trust: Building confidence through transparency, ethical use, and strong governance.
- People: uplifting capability across the APS to support safe and effective use of AI, while remaining conscious of the impact change has on people.
- Tools: Expanding access to secure, fit-for-purpose AI technologies.
In combination, Trust, People and Tools form an integrated approach. This enables us to support change management as we adopt AI across the APS. Each pillar’s success is vital to the others: skilled people and clear policies are needed to use new AI tools effectively, and the tools and experiences gained will inform ongoing policy refinement.
The use of AI by military, defence, intelligence, and law enforcement agencies is not subject to public reporting requirements. These agencies remain subject to strong existing oversight and accountability arrangements to ensure responsible and trustworthy use of AI.
Actions to drive adoption
Context and background
This plan is being progressed in alignment with work to develop a national plan for AI, led by the Department of Industry, Science and Resources, to deliver Australia’s ambition for AI across our economy.
Responsibility for the plan
Implementation of the plan is a joint responsibility, led by:
- Department of Finance (DoF)
- Digital Transformation Agency (DTA)
- Australian Public Service Commission (APSC)
While these 3 agencies own this plan, individual agencies remain responsible for their own adoption and use of AI.
Everyone in the Australian Government has a role to play in the safe, responsible adoption of AI – participating in training, following whole-of-government and agency specific policies, and contributing to the AI transformation of government.
Adopting Artificial Intelligence (AI) to deliver for Australians
Your responsibilities
To successfully meet this criterion, you need to:
- improve your service across its life
- schedule regular assessments
- communicate service upgrades