Australia is doubling down on AI with a major government push to turn workers into beneficiaries, not victims, of fast-moving tech change. Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers laid out a roadmap for AI’s impact on economy, jobs, and infrastructure.
The government sees AI as a huge growth engine, with Goldman Sachs predicting 7% GDP growth over the next decade and PwC forecasting a $15.7 trillion global bump by 2030. Australia ranks sixth worldwide on AI companies and research relative to GDP.
Chalmers flagged two big economy-wide AI effects: slashing info processing costs like eBay’s AI translation tools that boost cross-border trade, and speeding innovation by lowering R&D costs. But he warned AI won’t just create jobs — it will also change work’s nature, favoring manual and high-skill roles, squeezing medium-skill jobs. 
“The ability of AI to rapidly collate, create and disseminate information and disinformation makes people more vulnerable to fraud and poses a risk to democracies.”
He called out risks beyond jobs, including privacy, surveillance, bias, ethics, and resource strain from AI infrastructure.
Australia’s leveraging its land, renewable energy, and trusted partners to become a datacenter powerhouse. The government backs quantum computing and AI safety standards while aiming to keep regulations light.
Next priorities:
- Boost AI confidence and adoption in key sectors
- Fund upskilling and reskilling workers
- Fast-track national-interest data infrastructure
- Drive fair competition and AI supply chain influence
- Work with the finance minister to improve public services via AI
Chalmers is hosting an economic reform roundtable this month centering on AI’s role in resilience, productivity, and budgets.
“AI is contentious, and of course, there is a wide spectrum of views, but we are ambitious and optimistic.
We can deploy AI in a way consistent with our values if we treat it as an enabler, not an enemy…
Because empowering people to use AI well is not just a matter of decency or a choice between prosperity and fairness; it is the only way to get the best out of people and technology at the same time.”
Australia wants AI to be a tool for growth, not a source of disruption — aiming to ride the tech wave without letting workers drown.
