- The Australian federal government announced an investment of 225.2 million AUD (approx. 151 million USD) for the deployment of AI in the public sector over the next 4 years.
- This expenditure is a major tech highlight in the Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO) report, released before the Christmas season.
- The focus is on the GovAI program – AI services hosted on sovereign infrastructure, used across all government agencies.
- GovAI includes a shared AI platform, training and enablement programs, and a secure AI assistant named GovAI Chat.
- Of the total budget, 166.4 million AUD is allocated in the first 3 years to expand the GovAI platform and to design, build, and test GovAI Chat.
- Funding is released in stages, requiring milestones to be met before further disbursement, similar to tech funding models in many other countries.
- In the initial phase, the Department of Finance and the Digital Transformation Agency (DTA) will receive 28.5 million AUD for initial work and assurance assessment.
- Upon completion of a supplementary business case and a mid-term review report, an additional 137.9 million AUD will be released.
- The Department of Finance receives 28.9 million AUD over 4 years to establish a central AI function for deployment and enablement.
- The Australian Public Service Commission and the DTA receive 22.1 million AUD over 4 years to train foundational AI capabilities and plan workforce changes due to AI.
- The DTA is also granted 7.7 million AUD to strengthen AI capabilities and establish an AI review board for high-risk use cases.
- Each agency must appoint a senior executive responsible for AI, equivalent to a chief AI officer, by mid-2026 at the latest.
- Besides GovAI, MYEFO also dedicates nearly 30 million AUD/year for 4 years to establish an AI Safety Institute.
📌 The Australian federal government announced an investment of 225.2 million AUD (approx. 151 million USD) for the deployment of AI in the public sector over the next 4 years. The focus is on the GovAI program – AI services hosted on sovereign infrastructure, used across all government agencies. GovAI includes a shared AI platform, training programs, and a secure AI assistant named GovAI Chat. 166.4 million AUD is allocated in the first 3 years to expand the GovAI platform and to design, build, and test GovAI Chat.
