Australia’s peak tech body has agreed to work on a plan to pay for the use of copyrighted local content to train artificial intelligence models in what union boss Sally McManus labelled a “significant shift”.

The agreement came after a meeting between representatives from the Tech Council of Australia and the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) on the sidelines of the federal government’s Productivity Roundtable in Canberra last week.

The roundtable also saw a focus on the introduction of a road user charge, which would see the owners of electric vehicles pay a levy, with an options paper to be presented to the states and territories within a fortnight.

The AI breakthrough comes after weeks of debate surrounding the potential loosening of copyright laws to allow Australian companies to use content without permission in order to train their AI models.

Tech Council chair Scott Farquhar has led this push, while the Productivity Commission also proposed changes to copyright laws in recent weeks, leading to significant backlash from Australian content creators.

A path forward

Discussions between the Tech Council, whose members include Google and Microsoft, and the ACTU last week led to an agreement to work with the union movement on a “path forward on copyright that allows AI training to take place in Australia, while also including appropriate protections for creators that make a living from their work”, the ACTU said in a statement.

This will involve the development of a model for Australian companies to pay for the use of copyright content to train AI models.

ACTU secretary Sally McManus said this was a significant move.

“The outcome of the roundtable is the fact that there’s agreement that we’re going to give this a real good go at coming up with a model that makes sure people are actually paid for what they produce,” McManus said.

“That’s a big thing. None of us want to see AI used in a way that is going to destroy jobs. None of us want to see AI leading to the theft of the work of creatives and journalists and academics.”

Tech Council chief executive Damian Kassabgi said there is still a lot of work to be done to come up with a model for payment.

“While there is a lot you can canvas in a meeting, there is more work to be done on details and design, and the TCA looks forward to collaborating with unions and government post the roundtable,” Kassabgi told The Australian.

The outcome was also welcomed by the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA), which has been campaigning for fair payment for the use of copyrighted content.

“It’s a recognition of the labour rights of our members and their invaluable contributions to Australia’s culture, our society and our democracy,” MEAA chief executive Erin Madely said in a statement.

“Media and creative workers have spoken out about the encroachment of artificial intelligence on their jobs and how their voices, music and artwork have been scraped and faked without consent or compensation.”

The Productivity Roundtable featured significant discussions on AI, with some of the action points moving forward also focused on the technology.

Finance Minister Katy Gallagher has been tasked with releasing an Australian Public Service AI plan, while Industry Minister Tim Ayres will accelerate work on the National AI Capability Plan.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers also said the government would conduct further analysis on whether stand-alone AI legislation is needed.

“We’re going to do the work on that, the gap analysis of that, to see whether we can meet our objectives with existing legislation or whether it requires an overarching bill,” Chalmers told the media last week.

Driving towards a road user charge

Chalmers also said there was “more than the usual amount of consensus” among all parties at the roundtable on the need for a road user charge, and that an options paper would be presented to state and territory governments within weeks.

“There wasn't a final model settled, but there was a lot of conceptual support for road user charging, and we committed to that group that Daniel Mookhey and I would work with Catherine King and other ministers to work through a state’s options paper when I meet with the state and territory treasurers on the fifth of September,” Chalmers said.

“There was a lot of appetite around the roundtable today for a form of road user charging for EVs, but not yet a consensus on the model or on the sequencing and timing of that, and until you know those things, you don’t know the sorts of revenue that you would be thinking about raising.”

Such a road user charge would potentially see the owners of electric, hydrogen and plug-in hybrid vehicles charged for every kilometre they travel, mirroring the fuel excise for fuel-powered car drivers.

The Victorian government attempted to go it alone and introduce a road user charge in 2023, but was struck down by the High Court, who said this must only be done by the federal government.