Australian creatives have been assured their work will be protected from AI theft under an ambitious new plan unveiled by Anthony Albanese to take control of artificial intelligence use.
The Prime Minister declared in a landmark speech on Wednesday that he would introduce a world-first national framework in Parliament by early next year and establish a dedicated Office of Artificial Intelligence in his department in a bid to take back control.
As the technology transforms sectors and stokes fears about job security, intellectual property, and national security, the Prime Minister declared it was not too late to intervene to “seize, shape and share” the opportunities AI could deliver.
While stricter rules for building data centres Down Under were expected, Mr Albanese surprised many by also vowing to protect creative works from being scraped by AI models.
“Setting the terms means that we can put in place the strongest possible protection for Australian artists and Australian media,” he said.
“Australian writers, musicians, artists, and journalists must retain ownership and control of their work.
“A company shouldn’t use Australian books, music, art, or news to build or train AI without the artist’s control, and that includes the artist’s control of the price and value of their work.
“Anything less is theft.”
The move has been welcomed by the creative industry, which has today spoken out about their work being heavily used in training scrapers for AI platforms. with Australian punk band RATSALAD among the artists speaking out about their work being heavily used in training scrapers for AI music platforms such as Suno and Udio.
The move has been welcomed by the creative industry, with West Australian Music boss Owen Whittle saying technology was eroding the industry.
With AI already stealing work in the past few years, Mr Whittle questioned whether the Government would either force removals from platforms and training models or if there would be compensation.
“What happens to work which has already been stolen? Will tech oligarchs be forced to remove it or will there be penalties and compensation,” he asked.
Mr Albanese admitted “no country has got this right yet” and that it could be a hard and long road ahead.
“It is not our goal to try and legislate for every possible eventuality or risk,” he said.
“This is about having the flexibility to keep pace with change and get out in front of it.”
Dean Ormston, chief executive of APRA AMCOS — the copyright collective which represents Australian composers and songwriters — commended the policy for not includinga copyright exception for AI training.
Mr Ormston cautioned that any licensing framework must “ensure that the value of Australian creative works and intellectual property, which is the fuel AI is built on, is seen as an integral, appreciating national asset in its own right, not a line item to be settled quickly and cheaply”.
Under the plan, Australia would seek to safeguard residential areas from data centre construction and also require tech companies to pay if they need additional resources such as water and energy.
The PM said the centres would have to be “net generators” and “put at least as much energy into a grid as they take out of it”.
“We’ll create a legal obligation for the next generation of large-scale data centres to underwrite new power supply to pay their full share of grid connection.
“Our rules will require data centres to minimise their water use, to maximise energy efficiency, and pay for any additional water infrastructure that is required.”
Mr Albanese noted a set of expectations for data centre construction released in March as something the Government would seek to harden into more mandatory requirements.
Under the expectations, tech firms had been asked to prioritise hiring Australians when building infrastructure, using clean energy, contributing to local innovation, and not adversely impacting communities they’re built in.
“We can set the terms. We can determine AI’s social licence, but we have to do it now. We cannot revisit this issue after companies have built whatever they want, wherever they want, and try to then reopen negotiations,” he said. “Consider what international investors look for, and then think about what we have.
“World-class universities producing skilled graduates and high-quality research, the traditional resources, critical minerals, and rare earths that are essential, space to build, sunlight to power affordable, reliable, renewable energy.
“Strong bonds with the fastest-growing region of the world in human history, just to our north.
“A legal and financial system at the top of the global ladder for integrity, the security of transactions, timeliness of payments, and smart use of technology, and underpinning it all, stable democracy.”
With State and Territories key to approvals, Mr Albanese said he would convene a National Cabinet meeting in August to speak with premiers and chief ministers about the AI standards.
He had attributed the decision to keep the new AI office in his department to the national nature of the challenge ahead and the reach of AI across all government portfolios.
Assistant Minister for Science, Technology and the Digital Economy Andrew Charlton and Innovation Minister Tim Ayres will help lead the response.
Labor MP Ed Husic had been a leading advocate last term for the Albanese Government to introduce strict artificial intelligence regulation in the form of an enforceable AI Act.
However, Mr Husic had faced resistance in that push before being shuffled out of not only the Industry and Science Minister portfolio but also Cabinet.
Mr Ayres on Wednesday acknowledged the AI Safety Institute was built directly on the progress made by his predecessor Mr Husic’s work on the National Artificial Intelligence Centre last term.
“We’ve made good progress, really,” he said.
Shadow minister Aaron Violi on Wednesday questioned the Government’s approach and if the standards were about regulating AI or just how data centres were built and operated in Australia.
He accused Mr Ayres of a “really confusing interview” on ABC for only linking the proposed legislation to data centre construction and operations rather than broader AI regulation.
“It appears that they’re not actually looking to legislate AI standards. It appears that this is a legislation for data centres. That was a really confusing interview,” he said. “They’re actually two separate issues. So we need more clarity from the Government around what the legislation is. Is it focused on data centres, or is it looking at the rollout and implementation of artificial intelligence across the community?
“It’s quite concerning that it appears that the Prime Minister and the minister have conflated those two basic issues.”
Opposition Leader Angus Taylor accused Mr Albanese of trying to wrap AI and the benefits it could deliver to Australian productivity in bureaucracy.
But the Prime Minister insisted that Australia setting standards for itself would instead “enhance our appeal to international investors” and pitched the country as an ideal location for an AI boom because of its location, political stability and abundance of sun for solar power.
He highlighted Australia’s political stability, its location on the doorstep of Asia and abundance of sun for solar power as enticing selling points for the nation.
Greens senator David Shoebridge said he was concerned Labor would put the interest of big tech companies ahead of ordinary Australians and called for an independent AI regulator.
He also flagged part of Mr Albanese’s speech which indicated that key government data, like information for Smartraveller and emergency information, could be fed into large language models.
“If this Government was serious about accountability, it would be building an independent AI regulator with real statutory powers, not just another door inside the PM’s office for tech lobbyists to knock on,” Senator Shoebridge said.
“The PM today said he will allow government data to be consumed by US AI companies which raises real questions of consent, privacy and surveillance risk for every Australian. It’s hard to see how that’s in the public interest.
“He’s calling this an AI plan for Australia, but the future he’s mapped out is controlled by American billionaires, not Australian communities. What we got today was a red carpet for Meta, Palantir and Amazon, leading straight to the PM’s office.”
AI has dominated global leadership discussions as it disrupts almost every sector, with tech and media industries already making headlines in recent years for mass AI-driven job losses.
It has also become a critical defence and national security focus, as nations race to integrate the technology into operations while bracing for its potential threats.
Mr Albanese warned in his address at University of Sydney that “extremists and state actors” were “already” using AI to target young Australians and “spread disinformation that targets democracies”.
Australia’s peak intelligence agency, ASIO, recently warned AI was becoming an increasing threat as it enhanced espionage and online radicalisation.
The Five Eyes partnership between Australia, US, UK, Canada, New Zealand had also issued a stark warning in June that advanced frontier AI models were “already here” and supercharging offensive cyberattacks as they “exceed current industry expectations”.
The Nightly has also been told the Japanese minister responsible for the country’s AI strategy will visit Australia next month.
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