Australia will not proceed with a permanent AI Advisory Board, after the federal government confirmed it has abandoned the plan despite growing pressure for stronger oversight of the technology.
As reported by InnovationAus, recent answers to Senate Estimates questions on notice show the Department of Industry, Science and Resources (DISR) will not establish the AI Advisory Body announced and funded in the 2024-25 federal budget.
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At the time, $21.6 million was earmarked in the budget papers to “establish and reshape National AI Centre (NAIC) and an AI advisory body”.
The body was intended to provide independent advice from civil society, industry, and academia on the opportunities and risks of AI.
In a submission to a Senate inquiry last year, DISR said the mechanism was designed to build on the work of the temporary AI Expert Group, which was established in early 2024 to advise on options for mandatory guardrails in high-risk AI settings. That group has since been wrapped up.
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In response to questions from Liberal Senator Jane Hume, DISR said “appointments to the AI Advisory Body will not proceed”. Instead, the department will rely on “existing mechanisms and targeted consultations”, as well as the newly announced Australian AI Safety Institute (AISI).
A spokesperson for Industry Minister Tim Ayres told InnovationAus the proposal had been “superseded by a more dynamic and responsible approach”, adding that ministers would continue to engage with a wide range of experts when needed.
The AISI, which will reportedly be funded with $29.9 million in next week’s Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook, will sit inside DISR. It will provide the federal government with in-house technical capability to test and evaluate emerging AI systems.
Unlike the scrapped advisory body, it will not embed external experts in a formal standing structure. The government is still working through the institute’s staffing and governance model.
Criticism from Opposition and crossbench
Shadow Minister for Industry and Innovation Alex Hawke has criticised the decision.
“The Government’s decision to axe their own AI advisory body, which was supposed to help connect government and business, is a kick in the teeth for the Australian business community,” Hawke said in a statement.
“Industry Minister Tim Ayres is trying to get his union mates into more Australian workplaces by pushing for unions to co-design AI systems.
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According to Hawke, AI is “too important an economic opportunity for Australia to fumble”.
He went on to say: “Australia could be using AI to help further develop sovereign capabilities, particularly in manufacturing and critical minerals extraction; Labor is turning AI into another industrial relations battleground”.
Independent Senator David Pocock also raised concerns during Estimates, warning there were “huge, huge potential downsides to letting AI rip” and accusing the government of “basically giving us industry lines”.
Pocock urged ministers to listen more closely to independent researchers and civil society voices.
Ayres rejected suggestions that the government’s approach is light-touch, insisting existing laws already apply to AI-related harms and regulators remain responsible for enforcement within their sectors.
The AI Advisory Board is just the latest initiative to be dropped
The abandonment of the advisory body comes as the government reshapes its broader AI governance settings.
Last week’s National AI Plan confirmed Australia will rely on existing legal and regulatory frameworks rather than introduce new AI-specific legislation, with the government arguing this gives it the flexibility to respond as risks emerge.
The plan made no mention of the advisory body, despite its allocation in the 2024 federal budget.
The change also follows the conclusion of the temporary AI Expert Group and the government’s decision not to adopt its recommended guardrails for high-risk uses. In practice, the AISI represents a pivot toward building internal technical capability and away from formalised, ongoing external oversight.
For businesses and regulators, this means AI governance will now be shaped through existing laws, targeted consultations and analysis conducted by the AISI, rather than through a permanent advisory body with a diverse expert base.
Ayres told Senate Estimates further details about the AISI’s structure would be released early next year.
