Chief artificial intelligence officers will be appointed to every federal agency in 2026 as generative AI causes a “fundamental shift” in government operations, according to an AI Plan for the Australian Public Service (APS) released by the federal government on Wednesday.

The plan will see every government worker given access to generative AI tools, as well as guidance and training on how to properly use them, Labor said.

Newly appointed chief AI officers would be expected to “drive adoption and advocate for strategic change within their agencies”, the plan stated.

This included identifying how AI could be used to improve service delivery, improve policy, and more efficiently allocate resources, it added.

The Australian government’s plan would also expand its existing GovAI learning and collaboration platform and establish a chatbot dubbed Gov AI Chat, which would give APS workers “access to secure generative AI tools that leverage government data”.

“Responses will be fast, up-to-date, and auditable, delivered through familiar and secure interfaces,” the government said.

Announcing the AI plan, Minister for the Public Service, Katy Gallagher, said the federal government wanted to safely and ethically accelerate AI adoption to help boost national productivity — a key recommendation of August’s Economic Reform Roundtable.

“Trust, both from public servants and the broader public, is our licence to operate,” she said.

“The APS AI Plan puts strong governance and transparency at its core, ensuring human oversight is always present.”

Shadow Minister for the Public Service, Senator James Paterson, did not respond to a request for comment, but has previously criticised the government over some agencies not formally reporting how they use AI.

Government AI use ‘not about replacing people’

While chief AI officers in federal agencies would be tasked with identifying where AI could be used to more efficiently allocate resources, the government’s increasing adoption of the technology was “not about replacing people”, Gallagher argued.

"It’s about unlocking new capabilities while ensuring our people are focused on the work that requires human insight, empathy, and judgment,” she said.

“We’re imagining a public service that doesn’t just respond to people’s needs, but anticipates them, working seamlessly around their busy lives."

The government added it would invest in its workforce “to manage AI-driven changes in job design, skills, and mobility”, which it had previously forecast.

National secretary of the Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU), Melissa Donnelly, said the union remained “concerned about potential job losses and their impact on services and public sector workers”, despite the government’s assurances.

“The CPSU will continue to advocate for worker protections, transparency, and genuine ongoing consultation to ensure AI does not deepen existing inequalities,” she said.

“The government has set a clear expectation that agencies and departments meaningfully consult with their staff and unions as AI tools are introduced.

“The expertise of public sector workers is critical to ensuring these tools do not jeopardise public trust in government.”


Chief AI officers in Australian government agencies will be expected to 'drive adoption' of the technology. Image: Shutterstock

Donnelly said while the government’s AI plan was “a good starting point”, the union would hold leaders to account “to ensure fairness, transparency and accountability”.

“The union will be looking to ensure that workers receive their fair share of any productivity gains through better pay and conditions, and investment in skills that support public sector workers as technology evolves,” she said.

Many federal agencies and workers have already used generative AI, including the likes of Services Australia and the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA).

NDIA staff have used machine learning — a branch of AI — to help draft plans for participants in the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), The Guardian reported on Thursday.

Documents released under Freedom of Information (FOI) laws have also shown a senior Department of Home Affairs national security official used AI to draft speeches and messages to colleagues, according to Crikey.

Minister for Industry, Innovation, and Science, Tim Ayres, is expected to deliver the government’s broader National AI Plan by year’s end, after reportedly moving to dump plans for dedicated AI legislation.

The minister said on Tuesday that the plan would focus on capturing economic benefits for all Australians, and “not just big firms that are big adopters of AI technology”.

The question of sovereignty

US tech companies such as OpenAI and Microsoft have already won Australian government contracts to supply AI services.

Simon Kriss, co-founder and CEO of Sovereign Australia AI, argued the federal government should make sure each part of its AI supply chain is “Australian owned and controlled”.

“Without that safeguard in place, we risk foreign governments being able to access Australian data, such as with the United States CLOUD Act — to say nothing of the potential commercial conflicts of interest that might arise,” he said.

“It would be impossible to rebuild public trust in government AI if such an event were to occur.”

Labor said it would create “a government-based platform that avoids vendor lock-in and allows us to adopt emerging technologies and solutions, including from Australian businesses and innovators”.

The move to appoint a chief AI officer in every federal agency highlights increasing use of generative AI technologies within the Australian government, and follows similar moves by US Presidents Joe Biden and Donald Trump.

US software giant Salesforce, which has previously urged the Australian government to appoint an AI safety officer, told Information Age it welcomed its APS AI Plan and the broad appointment of chief AI officers, in the wake of Washington's moves.

The company’s vice president of government affairs for the Asia-Pacific, Sassoon Grigorian, said, “It has been positive that the current and previous US administrations have prioritised AI leaders who have both advanced responsible public sector digital transformation and encouraged open dialogue with private sector companies."