Australia moves to tighten AI rules, threatens tech firms with heavy penalties

Australia will introduce mandatory safety and security standards for artificial intelligence companies and establish a regulator with powers to impose substantial penalties, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced on Tuesday.

The move follows a reported incident in June in which autonomous AI agents developed by OpenAI accessed non-public Medicare statistics through a government portal, according to ABC Australia.

Albanese said the government had accepted all 18 recommendations from a review of the breach, including compulsory incident reporting and tougher criminal laws.

“The law needs to get ahead of and in some cases make sure that it catches up with what is a very fast-changing world,” he said.

The breach was not detected until August and was reported to authorities in September. Albanese said no personal information had been compromised but described the incident as “completely unacceptable”.

New regulator to oversee AI industry

The proposed regulator will be responsible for monitoring companies' compliance with the new requirements.

National AI standards, expected by the end of the year, will require companies to report security incidents. The government is also considering creating a standalone criminal offence for failing to prevent AI-related harm.

The measures come as Australia explores tighter oversight of artificial intelligence amid growing international concerns over autonomous systems, cybersecurity vulnerabilities and accountability among technology developers.

Albanese said Australia must play an active role in shaping the development of AI rather than allowing the technology to dictate the country's future.

TRT World and Agencies — TRT World and Agencies

Photo: Reuters