Australia’s governments have launched the National Framework for Assurance of AI, following a meeting in Darwin by the Digital and Data Ministers Meeting (DDMM) group. This framework introduces a set of guidelines, best practices, and standards for implementing AI in public sector policy and service delivery, emphasizing the importance of prioritizing people’s rights, wellbeing, and interests.
The framework builds upon the federal government’s eight AI ethics principles, which include fairness, privacy protection, reliability, transparency, and accountability. The new guidelines aim to provide a consistent approach to AI oversight while allowing flexibility for different jurisdictions to meet their unique needs.
New South Wales (NSW) has already taken steps toward AI regulation by mandating internal assessments for public sector AI projects and external reviews for higher-risk projects. Western Australia has also adopted AI-specific risk assessments, contributing to the growing trend of AI governance in the Australian public sector.
While the national framework does not enforce uniform assessment and review procedures across all jurisdictions, it encourages governments to implement similar oversight mechanisms. The guidelines also advocate for impact assessments to evaluate AI use cases, ensuring that benefits outweigh risks and that impacts are managed appropriately.
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