Policy for the responsible use of AI in government

Direct link: www.digital.gov.au/ai/ai-in-government-policy
Responsible agency: Digital Transformation Agency
Last updated: 1 December 2025

About the policy

The Policy for the responsible use of AI in government supports the accelerated and sustainable adoption of AI across government.

It aims to ensure agencies use of AI is responsible by:

complementing and aligning with existing frameworks
setting out requirements for AI strategy, oversight, preparedness, operations, and impact assessments.

Applicability

The policy is mandatory for non-corporate government departments and agencies. Check the policy for details and exemptions.

Access the policy

Read the Policy for the responsible use of AI in government.

Capabilities

This policy includes requirements that relate to the following capability.

CAP68

Machine learning

CAP66

Deep learning

CAP67

Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI)

Standards

The following standards show what to do to satisfy this policy.

Standard for AI accountability

STA51

Direct link: www.digital.gov.au/ai/ai-in-government-policy/accountabilityResponsible agency: Digital Transformation AgencyLast updated: 1 December 2025 About the standard The Standard for accountability sets out: the requirement for government agencies to designate an official, or officials, to be…

Standard for AI transparency statements

STA56

Direct link: www.digital.gov.au/ai/ai-in-government-policy/standard-ai-transparency-statementsResponsible agency: Digital Transformation AgencyLast updated: 1 December 2025 About the standard The Standard for AI transparency statements sets out: what information agencies must include in…

Technical standard for government’s use of artificial intelligence

STA72

Direct link: www.digital.gov.au/ai-tech-standardResponsible agency: Digital Transformation AgencyLast updated: 30 July 2025 The Technical standard for government’s use of artificial intelligence brings together a set of practices for designing, developing, deploying and using AI systems.…

Artificial intelligence integration protocols standard (position)

STA75

Artificial Intelligence (AI) integration protocols define the structure for communicating with AI tools, system or data sources. The purpose of this standard is to support the development, procurement or deployment of AI models across Australian government, including content generation and large…

Designs

The following designs can be relevant to meeting the requirements of this policy.

NSW artificial intelligence assessment framework

DES21

Direct link: www.digital.nsw.gov.au/policy/artificial-intelligence/nsw-artificial-intelligence-assessment-framework Responsible agency: Digital NSW The NSW artificial intelligence assessment framework (AIAF) assists NSW agencies to design, build and use AI-enabled products and…

Adoption of Artificial Intelligence in the Public Sector

DES167

On 1 September 2024, the Policy for the responsible use of AI in government took effect. This supersedes the below guidance, which is retired effective that same date. Adoption of AI in the Public Sector By 2030, it is estimated that Artificial Intelligence (AI) and associated machine-assisted…

Evaluation of the whole-of-government trial of Microsoft 365 Copilot

DES168

Direct link: digital.gov.au/initiatives/copilot-trial Responsible agency: Digital Transformation Agency Last updated: October 2024 The Australian Government recently completed a trial of Microsoft 365 Copilot that provided APS staff an opportunity to experiment with a generative AI…

AI impact assessment tool

DES186

Direct link: www.digital.gov.au/ai/impact-assessment-toolResponsible agency: Digital Transformation AgencyLast updated: 1 December 2025 About the tool The AI impact assessment tool supports agencies to assess the impacts and risks of an artificial intelligence (AI) use case against …

Guidance on how to use the AI impact assessment tool

DES187

Direct link: www.digital.gov.au/ai/impact-assessment-tool/guidanceResponsible agency: Digital Transformation AgencyLast updated: 1 December 2025 About the guidance The Guidance on how to use the AI impact assessment tool supports agencies completing an assessment of their AI use case using the AI…