# Australian Government Proposes AI Standards

The Australian federal government has released a consultation paper proposing national standards for AI development and data centres, including mandatory reporting of 'rogue' AI incidents and environmental requirements for data centre operations. This initiative aims to attract significant AI investments, such as Anthropic's proposed $31.9 billion hyperscale AI data centre hub in Queensland's Western Downs, while ensuring safety, sustainability, and support for domestic AI research. Concurrently, the government's AI policy efforts face challenges due to an 11-month stalemate over copyright reform, which affects investment decisions by major AI companies like OpenAI and Anthropic. The Prime Minister's Office AI unit remains small, underscoring potential opportunities for contractors in AI infrastructure development, regulatory compliance, and policy advisory roles.

- The consultation paper sets a deadline of October 9, 2026, for feedback, signaling an imminent regulatory framework that vendors and contractors should prepare to engage with.
- Anthropic's large-scale AI data centre project in Queensland represents a major procurement and infrastructure opportunity in the AI sector.
- Procurement professionals should anticipate increased demand for services related to AI safety compliance, environmental standards for data centres, and support for national AI research initiatives.
- The ongoing copyright reform stalemate may influence the timing and scope of AI-related contracts and investments, requiring strategic planning by industry stakeholders.

**Jurisdictions:** federal
**Industries:** Information Technology
**Topics:** Regulatory Compliance
**Published:** September 18, 2026

### Government Entities
- Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (PM&C)
- Department of Industry, Science and Resources
- Joint Select Committee on Artificial Intelligence
- Australian Government

### Vendors
- Anthropic (AI technology company)
- OpenAI (AI technology company)

### Key Quotes
> We prioritise safety as our No. 1 responsibility to the Australian people, and I think that’s broadly shared across the parliament. We think the AI Safety Institute was well received. We are hoping for support across our safety priorities, including privacy and agentic commerce, and ordinary decision-making and worker safety, and we are working closely with the parliament, obviously through this select committee.
> — Andrew Charlton, Assistant Technology Minister

> You can see why the AI companies don’t want to do a deal under our copyright laws, because it causes them a big headache in all these other jurisdictions where they haven’t done that, and they’ve in some jurisdictions settled multibillion-dollar lawsuits to avoid setting a precedent.
> — David Pocock, Independent Senator

> The paper asks the right questions, on energy, water, costs and community, and it rightly recognises that this infrastructure has to be built on terms that work for Australians.
> — Belinda Dennett, Chief Executive, Data Centres Australia

### Sources
- [AI companies would need to report 'rogue' incidents under proposed national standards - ABC News](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09-18/australian-ai-data-centre-national-standards-consultation/107167464) - ABC News & Headlines – Australian Broadcasting Corporation
- [Exclusive: PM’s AI office has fewer than 10 staff | The Saturday Paper](https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/technology/2026/09/19/exclusive-pms-ai-office-has-fewer-10-staff) - The Saturday Paper