The Labor government has confirmed it will not introduce a standalone artificial intelligence law, arguing instead that Australia’s existing sector-specific rules can be strengthened to manage risks while allowing innovation to flourish.

As part of its newly released AI strategy, the government has shifted its focus toward improving access to high-quality public and private data, which it sees as essential to training and deploying advanced AI systems.

Officials said the plan reflects a pragmatic approach: targeted regulation where necessary, combined with efforts to ensure local businesses, researchers and technology developers can draw on the datasets needed to compete internationally.

Canberra will pursue new pathways for securely sharing public-sector data and encourage partnerships that enable private companies to pool information under strong privacy and security standards.

The strategy also outlines incentives for responsible AI adoption across health, education, defence and financial services, while promising enhanced oversight of high-risk applications.

Rather than creating an overarching AI act, the government plans to adapt existing frameworks — from consumer law to privacy and safety regulations — to address emerging technologies.

Industry groups have broadly welcomed the emphasis on data access, warning that Australian innovators risk falling behind global competitors without the ability to train systems on large-scale, diverse datasets.

Critics of a standalone law argue such legislation could quickly become outdated given the pace of technological change.

The government’s approach positions Australia to strengthen its AI capabilities by leveraging local data assets while maintaining flexible governance.

With global competition intensifying, officials say unlocking data responsibly is the most effective way to ensure national leadership in AI development.