Australia will establish a dedicated artificial intelligence safety regulator to oversee frontier AI companies operating in the country, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced on November 10.
The proposed regulator will enforce mandatory safety and security requirements under legislation being developed by the government. Companies that fail to comply could face significant financial penalties.
The announcement forms part of the government’s broader AI Standards legislation, which will apply to companies developing or deploying advanced AI models in Australia.
Under the proposed requirements, companies will have to maintain security controls throughout the development and deployment of their models. They will also be required to identify and manage serious risks associated with their systems.
Other obligations include allowing independent evaluations of AI models and reporting security incidents to the government promptly. Companies will also have to publish safety and security frameworks covering governance, risk management and transparency.
The regulator will work alongside the Australian AI Safety Institute, which will provide technical expertise and oversight as international standards develop.
The announcement followed a government review into an AI-related cyber incident involving an OpenAI agent. The agent had accessed information on the Australian Government’s Medicare Statistics Reporting Service portal in June. OpenAI informed the government about the incident in September.
The government released the review’s recommendations on November 10 and said it had accepted all 18 recommendations. These include stronger incident reporting requirements and measures to improve the government’s response to AI-related cyber incidents.
The proposed regulator is intended to strengthen oversight of advanced AI systems while allowing the technology sector to continue developing in Australia.
