Artificial Intelligence is Surging Ahead – Why is Australia Left Behind?

If recent headlines and union lobbying efforts are anywhere to go by, the Artificial Intelligence tsunami is heading our way and Australia is perilously close to being drowned. Unions, led by the ACTU, are now calling for binding workplace agreements, the right for workers to refuse AI adoption, and mandatory consultation before employers introduce AI tools that might replace or monitor staff. They demand clarity on surveillance, worker data rights, and liability in automated decision making.

Recently, Workplace Relations Minister Murray Watt reiterated that employers should consult staff before rolling out AI for performance management recalling the Woolworths debacle, where workers pushed back on an AI driven discipline system and won changes to keep metrics separate from punishment.

Unions echoed these themes: no coercion, transparency, and clearly defined rights before AI becomes workplace policy. It’s a fair ask but it also reveals Australia’s hesitation and lack of urgency.

Australia Is Falling Behind
On the investment and innovation front, the movement lags. Australia’s AI Action Plan launched in mid 2021 pledged A$124 million for development but that’s dwarfed by global counterparts investing billions per year. Though more recently, the government unveiled a National AI Capability Plan to drive private innovation, workforce upskilling, and sovereign infrastructure much of it still forthcoming and widely criticised for its slow timeline. Tech Council research says AI could deliver up to A$115 billion a year by 2030 yet warns Australia could lose out if we don’t accelerate action now. Macquarie data science experts see Australia at risk of being sidelined entirely.
Even the National Reconstruction Fund is stepping into AI space with A$32 million invested in AI health tech firm Harrison.ai, targeting a A$550 million fund this year and more in coming years. South Australia has pledged A$28 million for AI trials in healthcare and policing explicitly focusing on upskilling rather than replacing staff. It’s a start but at a national scale, it’s not nearly enough.

The Tsunami Is Coming – Early Adopters Won’t Just Survive; They’ll Thrive
Here’s the bottom line: AI isn’t about swapping people for machines it’s about enhancing productivity, augmenting decision making, and freeing up workers for higher value tasks. Businesses that become early adopters who embrace consultation frameworks, invest in training, and partner with workers will outpace competitors in efficiency, flexibility, and innovation.

Instead of fear based regulation, what we need is a balanced policy framework. Organisations like KPMG warn that excessive or restrictive rules could deter investment, hurt productivity, and create a policy vacuum just at the moment when clarity is needed most. That balance must protect workers, and businesses but also make us attractive to AI innovators.

Upskilling, Not Replacing
As South Australian Minister Dr Kathy Nicholson emphasised: the aim is to apply AI to repetitive tasks, not replace roles entirely. Upskilling and retraining should be front and centre so workers can ride the wave of innovation, not be drowned by it. That dovetails with the Parliamentary Committee’s recommendations: amend the Fair Work Act to mandate transparency, a worker right to explanation, and human oversight in automated decision making. The law already requires employers to consult unions when planning redundancies adding AI specific clauses feels like overreach.

Australia Must Wake Up
Without urgent, concrete action from government and business, we risk being left behind. AI is already transforming industries globally. Whether we like it or not, the tsunami is coming, and we need to be ready.

Businesses that lead with transparent adoption strategies, worker engagement, and serious investment in training will survive and thrive. Those stuck in reactive mode, fearing displacement rather than seizing opportunity, will fall behind.

What we need is a sense of national urgency: accelerate the National AI Capability Plan, scale funding via the National Reconstruction Fund, streamline copyright laws to support text and data‐mining, and embed worker centric governance in all AI policy frameworks that are balanced with the needs and innovation required by Australian businesses to compete on a global scale. But what we don’t need is more red tape that prevents workplaces from being able to leverage AI in ways that makes them competitive and more profitable. If this happens Australia will be left behind.

My two cents are that we are already making it extremely hard for Australia businesses to employ people. With our complicated IR system and regulations, 121 modern awards, high taxes – think payroll, removal of flexible labour options like casual employment and now contractors and labour hire also under threat my fear is that more compliance means less jobs.

The focus must be on Australian businesses being innovators that support upskilling, not replacement. Governance frameworks need to activate fair and transparent adoption, not stifle uptake.

Without swift action, Australia risks falling behind the global curve, stuck in endless debate about fear-based compliance measures while others surge ahead with real innovation.

Written by Emily Jaksch