Canberra
AI/Machine Learning

OpenAI just won a 2nd Australian government contract after being the only company invited to bid

- October 23, 2025 3 MIN READ

OpenAI is steadily embedding itself in the Australian government, with the US tech giant winning its second contract without any competition as the public sector is encouraged to embrace public generative AI tools. The Digital Transformation Agency (DTA) last week issued new guidance recommending agencies and departments be encouraged to use public generative AI tools… Read more »

Rehan D'Almeida
Business

FinTech Australia says the government needs to include digital tech, including AI and cybersecurity, in its R&D Tax Incentive review

- October 20, 2025 2 MIN READ

FinTech Australia has warned that financial and other digital technologies risk being unintentionally excluded from future innovation funding unless explicitly recognised in the federal government’s current Strategic Examination of Research and Development (R&D). The fintech peak body argue its case in a submission to the R&D review’s expert panel, led by Tesla chair Robyn Denholm,… Read more »

Bitcoin ATM
Cryptocurrency

The Australian government is cracking down on cryptocurrency crimes with new regulatory powers over Crypto ATMs

- October 16, 2025 2 MIN READ

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke on Thursday will outline new powers to combat money laundering, terrorism financing and crime risks associated with cryptocurrency and Crypto ATMs. AUSTRAC, Australia’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing regulator, estimates 85% of the transactions sent by the top users of Crypto ATMs comes from the proceeds of scams or money-mule… Read more »

Global tech

Google comes out swinging over government including YouTube in its under 16 social media ban

- October 15, 2025 3 MIN READ

Google has strongly criticised Australia’s impending ban of under-16s holding social media accounts after its popular video streaming platform YouTube was added to the ban following a federal government backflip. YouTube was expected to be exempt from the nation’s social media age ban, set to begin on 10 December, after the legislation was first introduced by the… Read more »

Breaking Bad, money pile
Investing

Super ideas: Treasurer Jim Chalmers scraps the biggest threat to startup investment – the unrealised gains tax on superannuation

- October 13, 2025 4 MIN READ

Federal treasurer Jim Chalmers has abandoned plans to tax the unrealised gains of large superannuation balances, a controversial move that raised alarm bells for investors in early-stage startups. The change ends fears that angel investors, who often back startups from self-managed super funds (SMSFs) would vanish had the government implemented the new rule as part… Read more »

Oliver, begging bowl
AI/Machine Learning

Tech giants lobby Australia’s government over AI as Amazon warns of a ‘two-tier economy’

- October 6, 2025 2 MIN READ

Balancing the merits of artificial intelligence with the risks it poses to workers and creatives is a debate which rages on, all while major US tech companies ramp up their public relations campaigns — warning of the emergence of “two-tier” economies without greater AI take-up. Amazon recently laid out its vision for a future Australia… Read more »

AI/Machine Learning

AI is ‘taking money away’ from content creators, Senate committee told

- October 5, 2025 3 MIN READ

Australian creatives should be properly compensated when their copyrighted works are used to train artificial intelligence models, prominent musicians, writers, and industry groups told a Senate committee hearing last Tuesday. Artists fronted the inquiry as Australia’s Productivity Commission consults on whether a new “fair dealing” exception should be introduced to allow local companies to use Australians’ copyrighted… Read more »

money tree
Business

Why Australia’s $5 billion Net Zero Fund needs to be more than an incentive for mining billionaires to do better

- October 3, 2025 2 MIN READ

The new $5 billion Net Zero Fund, announced last week as part of the Federal government’s plan to meet a 61% -70% emissions reduction target, could be the most important lever Australia has to accelerate our transition to net zero. But unless it is designed to take risks and back first-of-a-kind climate innovations, we risk… Read more »

Politics

Australia’s cutting a deal with the EU to get more locals into space

- October 2, 2025 2 MIN READ

Major pacts with Europe and the US set Australia’s space industry on course for expansion, with IAC 2025 showcasing the moment Australia and the European Union will sign cooperation agreements to cooperate on future space missions and extra-terrestrial business opportunities. The agreement between the Australian and European Space Agencies would offer businesses and researchers greater… Read more »

A group of kids on mobile phones
Business

The Australian government’s guidance on the social media ban for under-16s is out – here’s what it says

- September 17, 2025 3 MIN READ

The Australian government today released regulatory guidance on the social media minimum age law, which comes into effect on December 10. The law will restrict individuals under 16 from holding accounts on many social media platforms. Reasonable steps for tech companies This guidance follows a self-assessment guide for technology companies recently released by the eSafety… Read more »

AI/Machine Learning

Aussie! Aussie! Aussie! AI! AI! AI!: Innovation minister Tim Ayres on the national potential of artificial intelligence

- September 16, 2025 5 MIN READ

Australia could bury its head in the sand while AI disrupts education and existing human capital – or Australia can enhance AI’s potential benefits by lifting the skills and preparedness of Australian workers and students. Australia could squander the enormous benefits of adopting early – or it can embrace AI to help advance the government’s… Read more »

AI/Machine Learning

Why Albanese government claims that AI is behind a surge in FOI requests is BS

- September 10, 2025 3 MIN READ

The federal government’s claim that several hundred Freedom of Information (FOI) applicants’ requests to the eSafety Commissioner last year were “AI bot-generated” is false, according to eSafety’s publicly available documents. “We’re frankly being inundated by anonymous requests … many of them we’re sure are AI bot-generated requests,” Minister for Health and Ageing Mark Butler said… Read more »

Cyber security

U16s social media trial ban given green tick, but it’s clear that it’s plagued with serious issues

- September 1, 2025 2 MIN READ

The government’s trial has found age-assurance for its under-16 social media ban can be done effectively and protect privacy but there is not a one-size-fits-all model. The report, from an independent company and released in full, also warns continued vigilance is needed on privacy and other issues. It found some providers, in the absence of… Read more »

AI/Machine Learning

OpenAI looks to set up shop in Sydney

- August 28, 2025 2 MIN READ

US artificial intelligence giant OpenAI, is looking to open a base in Sydney by the end of 2025. The company behind ChatGPT, now worth around A$750 billion, has been busy signing local deals over the past 12 months, including with UNSW and most recently, the Commonwealth Bank, as well as ramping up its lobbying efforts… Read more »