Check against delivery

Thank you, Andrew [McKellar ACCI CEO] for the introduction, and good morning everyone.

It’s a pleasure to be here on Ngunnawal Country for this important event – and I thank the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry for the opportunity.

Some important speakers have been convened for the first day of this summit – and I want to acknowledge them:

• Geraldine Slattery (BHP Australia president)
• Sussan Ley, and
• Allegra Spender.

And I understand you’ll be hearing from the Treasurer this evening.

I also want to acknowledge my fellow panellists on a later discussion focussing on AI’s productive potential:

• Janet Menzies [Amazon Australia]
• Narelle Devine [Global CIO Telstra]
• Emma Crichton [CEO AutogenAI APAC], and our moderator
• Heidi Cooper [CEO Business Chamber Queensland]

My friend and colleague, Assistant Minister Andrew Charlton, has also been in discussion here this morning.

I want to acknowledge his considerable expertise and drive on all technology and AI questions. His partnership with me has been important in shaping the government’s approach to the big opportunities and challenges of AI.

Introduction

AI has arrived at a consequential moment for Australian industry.

There are huge transformations happening right now that will bear directly on how Australians live and work for years to come.

Increasing economic competition and geopolitical uncertainty. Trade volatility. The shift to a low carbon global economy. The rise of AI and machine learning, together with other big tech changes like quantum computing.

Any one of those developments on their own would be a major transformation; together, they are a formidable combination.

There are just two choices for Australia in response to these transformations – leaning back and accepting technologies and standards made elsewhere: or stepping up and maximising an unmissable opportunity for Australia’s economy.

For those of us committed to a Future Made in Australia, and who understand that these opportunities are transient, the choice is straightforward.

I’m focussed on maximising the opportunities that are in front of Australia today.

Making sure the energy transition translates into good jobs and sustainable livelihoods in regional and suburban Australia.

That unsteady global conditions encourage smart investment decisions and a renewed commitment to support Australia’s domestic manufacturing capabilities.

And that the government is levelling the playing field for Australian industry and lifting Australia’s international competitiveness.

Artificial Intelligence

Australia’s approach to AI bears directly on all of these questions.

AI will add to, enhance and augment Australian jobs and living standards.

It will strengthen Australia’s economic autonomy and resilience.

And it will make Australia more competitive in the global shift underway towards a low carbon global economy.

The Albanese Government is calibrating Australia’s approach carefully, in a way that maximises AI’s value and mitigates its risks.

Last December, my predecessor announced that the government would develop a National AI Capability Plan to guide investment and growth in the emerging AI industry here in Australia.

As I’ve moved around the country and engaged with industry and with working Australians, what has struck me is the scale of the opportunity for Australia, for Australian firms and for Australian workers.

Ordinary people working at Australian factories, farms, offices, medical clinics and public sector institutions are bringing ambitious ideas about AI adoption to work.

And of course, even as they adopt the technology, many everyday Australians have concerns about what AI will mean for their jobs and livelihoods, their democracy and social fabric.

The National AI Plan

That’s why the plan I deliver by the end of this year will be a broader, more expansive National AI Plan for Australia.  

It will outline how all of us – government, the Australian and international tech sector, industry, trade unions and other social institutions, the investment community, researchers and civil society – can work together to ensure productive, transformative, and ethical adoption of AI.

The plan is built on three core principles.

Capturing the opportunities

First, Australia needs to work purposefully to capture the opportunities of AI.

Australians are pragmatic and practical when it comes to adopting and implementing new tools and technologies into our methods of work.

In my previous life as a trade union official, I saw the adoption of waves of new technological change on factory floors and workplaces all over Australia.

Robotics, automation, the digitalisation of design and processes.

I saw massive changes in the way manufacturing sector workplaces were administered – the rise of the internet and the smartphone, computer-aided design, robotic technologies in production and assembly, and the arrival of 3D printing.

None of these changes were free of disruption, but blue-collar Australians have been more pragmatic, more capable and more adaptive with each new wave of technology.

Because it is a general-purpose technology, AI will have more fundamental implications for Australian life. But we should start with the same pragmatic Australian premise that was applied to those earlier technological developments.

Suncorp is one large enterprise rising to the challenge – its Disaster Management Centre uses AI-enabled weather prediction models to send early warnings to customers and prepare staff.

That means good jobs, better work satisfaction and a better deal for Suncorp’s customers.

The government is using its investment capabilities to help other, smaller Australian firms seize some of these AI opportunities.

In January, the National Reconstruction Fund made a $32 million equity investment in Harrison.ai, a firm whose state-of-the-art AI diagnostic technology is lifting the precision of medical professionals across Australia’s clinics and hospitals.

Harrison.ai is a genuine Australian success story, supported by smart public and private investment.

Of course, Australia will need to attract investment in new digital infrastructure – the data centres, server capabilities and networks that make widespread AI adoption possible.

With our strong institutions, clean energy potential, land availability, and access to advanced chips, Australia is well-positioned to lean in.

Firmus Technology, backed by Nvidia and CDC, has already announced plans to build an energy- and water-efficient AI factory, to the tune of $4.5 billion, in Tasmania.

That type of project will make Australia a leader in sustainable AI and bring good blue-collar jobs – for builders, fabricators, technical specialists and others – to Australia’s suburbs and regions.

Data centres will add new demand to the energy grid, but as Assistant Minister Charlton has foreshadowed, the government is developing a set of guiding principles for data centre approvals, including requirements for co-requisite investments in renewable energy and sustainability.¹  

That will mean data centres attract more clean energy, more effective system monitoring, faster upgrades and better strategic planning for an energy-efficient, low-carbon future.

Of course, we can’t capture the opportunity fully without purposeful international engagement.

In Washington last Monday, Australia and the United States agreed to develop a new Technology Prosperity Deal with a focus on investment in AI, quantum and global technological leadership.²  

And on Tuesday last week, I met with the President’s advisor on science and technology, Mike Kratsios, to start putting flesh on the bones of that partnership.

Sharing the benefits

The plan’s second goal is that all Australians share the benefits of AI.

That’s entirely in keeping with this government’s core political philosophy: no-one held back and no-one left behind.  

The productivity benefits of AI are enormous, but in Australia it will be a rising tide that lifts all boats – not just those who might be able to afford a superyacht.

There are a range of initiatives already delivering on that important principle, and that work is led by the National AI Centre.

Last week, the Centre released its new Guidance for AI Adoption, crystallising earlier guidelines and advice into six key practices for Australian businesses.

These practices emphasise accountability, planning, measuring and managing risks, disclosure, testing and human oversight.  

The AI Adopt Program is providing practical tools and resources to help businesses implement AI technologies.

The government has invested $17 million in four AI Adopt Centres.

Businesses who have engaged with these centres are already finding ways to improve the world of work and service provision – reducing intensity for some workers and improving clinical accuracy for others.

J Robotics, an agricultural tech startup based in Ocean Grove, Victoria, is developing AI-capable machines that use UV light instead of chemicals to combat mildew’s effect on wine crops.  

Australia is building an AI-ready workforce now through TAFE and VET courses on digital skills; the $47 million Next Generation Graduate program delivered through industry, universities and the CSIRO; and 1 million free ‘Introduction to AI’ scholarships.

Minister Katy Gallagher’s work on an AI Plan for the Australian Public Service is important, too.

It’s appropriate that the public service leads by example, setting the pace of adoption and modelling the highest possible standards.

The now-infamous Deloitte report to another government department a few weeks ago, with its made-up, unchecked references, is also a cautionary tale for those who mistake AI as a substitute for good critical thinking and quality service provision in the public sector.

Keeping Australians Safe

The third goal of the National AI Plan is keeping Australians safe.

Used properly, AI will help make Australians safer.

The CSIRO has been developing and scaling-up AI and satellite tools that help detect, track and mitigate bushfires.³  

Life Saving NSW is testing AI-enabled cameras that can identify swimmers in distress and alert the nearest rescue crews.⁴  

But we all know that AI comes with new risks.

And even as Australia embraces AI opportunity, this government will work to build and maintain trust and confidence in this technology.

Australia already has strong, adaptive laws that support consumer rights, privacy, online safety, and fair competition.

All of those laws apply to AI right now. And this government has no plans to weaken these laws.

The recent review of Australian Consumer Law found that its existing settings and frameworks are ‘broadly capable of adapting effectively to the increasing uptake of AI-enabled goods and services’. ⁵ 

There are robust regulatory agencies already on hand to administer and enforce all of these laws, and those agencies are not taking their foot off the pedal.

There will be changes in the labour market arising from AI – mainly in the form of job augmentation rather than job replacement, according to Jobs and Skills Australia.

There is no shortage of bright ideas about new agencies or ad hoc taskforces to oversee AI adoption in Australian workplaces.

But good AI adoption requires thoughtful conversations in each workplace, rather than new national bureaucracies that duplicate what we already have.

It is up to businesses to ensure AI is used ethically, effectively and democratically in workplaces, and responsibly in their goods and services.  

Of course, wherever new harms or bad actors are enabled by AI or other digital technologies, this government has shown that it will take decisive action.  

In the previous term, the government acted to restrict deepfake pornographic content.

And more recently, the Minister for Communications, Anika Wells, has announced work to restrict AI “nudify” apps and undetectable online stalking tools, in order to keep Australians – and especially Australian children – safe.  

Of course, keeping Australians safe also means taking part in setting global norms.

As part of our Seoul Declaration commitments, we are working with the International Network of AI Safety Institutes to strengthen global understanding of the capabilities of AI systems.

Conclusion

Australia’s National AI Plan will lay out what successful adoption looks like – how we should invest with impact to capture the social and economic opportunities for every Australian.

This is a whole-of-government effort – there’s not a single portfolio in government, not a single department or agency, that isn’t grappling with the adoption of AI.

The delivery of the National AI Plan will be a major milestone in Australia’s AI adoption conversation, but it won’t be the conclusion.

If anything, the plan should lead to more conversations among ordinary Australians.

The technology itself will continue to evolve – in fact, firms like Telstra are already testing quantum computing technologies that make some AI programs look about as novel as the VCR player or the floppy disk.

Australians will need to keep engaging with each other as we adopt this technology together.

And I can assure everyone, within and beyond industry, that as AI evolves, public policy will keep evolving alongside it.

I look forward to your support and involvement in realising the exciting potential of AI to power future prosperity.

Thank you.

End notes

1. https://www.capitalbrief.com/article/government-plans-rapid-approvals-for-data-centres-85df26b6-f3a0-49a3-a554-f229d2d09713/
2. https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2025/10/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-closes-billion-dollar-deals-with-australia/
3. https://www.csiro.au/en/news/all/news/2025/july/advancing-bushfire-preparedness-in-australia
4. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-10-18/ai-camera-trial-rock-fishing-safety-nsw/105902900
5. Treasury, Review of AI and the Australian Consumer Laws, Final Report, October 2025, p 2, https://treasury.gov.au/sites/default/files/2025-10/p2025-702329-fr.pdf