OPINION: Australia’s AI Rulebook Is Here; Now It’s Time To Move
Written by Phoebe Keates, Enterprise Account Director at Choir Digital, Choir Digital
Australia Finally Has A National Playbook For AI Adoption.
The Australian Government’s Guidance for AI Adoption, released in October 2025, gives organisations something they have long needed; a clear framework for how to build, deploy and scale AI safely.
This matters. Not because the document itself is groundbreaking, but because it turns years of debate into practical direction. The National AI Centre has distilled ten guardrails into six practical principles that every organisation can apply: Accountability, Impact Planning, Risk Management, Transparency, Testing & Monitoring, and Human Control.
For those working in this space, it signals that the Australian government is pushing the move from AI talk to impact. Great news!
But having the playbook / rulebook is only one part of the equation. The real test is what businesses do with it.
The Catch: Governance Is Not Growth
Yes, we should all be celebrating the fact that the government has now given Australian business a foundation for responsible, transparent and ethical AI adoption. But anyone who has spent time in this space knows that governance will only get us so far.
We have seen it before: the committees, the strategic frameworks, the “pilot purgatory.” Teams caught between excitement and fear, waiting for permission to innovate. In the race to be responsible, too many forget how to be bold.
Yet some Australian organisations are showing what happens when you’re bold. Firmus is building a purpose-built AI factory campus in Tasmania, one of the most advanced and sustainable compute zones in the southern hemisphere. Across the mainland, momentum is growing. Commonwealth Bank is rolling out generative AI tools across teams and customer channels. OpenAI has chosen Sydney for its first Australian office. Telstra’s partnership with Accenture is driving AI-led transformation, and Qantas is using AI to improve maintenance, routes and customer experience.
Australia is showing signs of progress, but it would be naïve to think we are moving fast enough. It’s clear that some businesses are leading with intent, building infrastructure, deploying AI at scale and rethinking how they operate, yet the broader corporate landscape is still playing catch up.
The government’s new framework gives us clarity on how to develop and scale safely. The next step is to ensure we actually create sustained impact.
I truly believe that governance should be the foundation that enables innovation, not the process that delays it. The opportunity now lies in closing the gap between those shaping policy and those putting AI to work.
Australia is not short on ambition or potential. What we need is pace.
Start Small. Finish Big.
Progress rarely begins with grand strategies, sweeping transformation programs or large budgets. They start with something simple: a proof of concept, a process improvement, a team empowered to experiment safely within clear guardrails.
The governments new policy reinforces this mindset. It encourages organisations to begin where they are, build capability gradually and scale what works.
Australia’s opportunity lies in execution, not aspiration. Governance sets the framework, but value is created through action. The organisations that lead will be those that build confidence through delivery, not delay.
The Moment Is Now
The government has laid the groundwork for safe, transparent and ethical AI. The foundations are clear; the guidance is there. What happens next depends on how businesses choose to act.
Australia has the tools, the talent and the opportunity to lead. Start small. Build it right. Then build it fast enough to matter.
Talk to Choir Digital
At Choir Digital we are supporting a range of clients in realising their AI pipeline. Feel free to reach out to me for a discussion on how your AI agenda can be executed effectively and impactfully.
Note that this article was written by Phoebe Keates but cleaned up by AI tools.
References:
· Australian Government, Guidance for AI Adoption: Foundations, October 2025
https://www.industry.gov.au/publications/guidance-for-ai-adoption/guidance-ai-adoption-foundations
· Australian Government, Guidance for AI Adoption: Implementation Practices, October 2025
https://www.industry.gov.au/publications/guidance-for-ai-adoption/guidance-ai-adoption-implementation-practices
· Firmus Technologies, Tasmanian AI Factory Zone clears path for Firmus Project Southgate, 2025
https://firmus.co/newsroom/tasmanian-world-first-ai-factory-zone-clears-path-for-firmus-project-southgate
· AFR, ChatGPT maker OpenAI to open the first Australian Office, 2025 https://www.afr.com/technology/chatgpt-maker-openai-chooses-sydney-for-first-australian-office-20250827-p5mqef
· ANZ, Outlook 25: AI goes from hype to help, December 2024
https://www.anz.com/institutional/insights/articles/2024-12/outlook-25-ai-goes-from-hype-to-help
· Accenture Newsroom, Telstra and Accenture announce global AI joint venture, January 2025
https://newsroom.accenture.com/news/2025/telstra-and-accenture-announce-global-ai-joint-venture