Australia plans to require frontier artificial intelligence companies operating in the country to meet mandatory safety and security standards. The government also proposes establishing a dedicated regulator with powers to penalise companies that fail to comply.

A joint ministerial release dated 10 November 2026 sets out the proposed protections under planned Australian AI Standards legislation. The government says it will complete further work and consultation before publishing details of the legislation.

The release says the requirements would apply to all frontier AI companies wishing to operate in Australia. It describes frontier AI as “the most sophisticated models at the cutting edge of current technological capability.”

Who would enforce the protections?

The Albanese government proposes a targeted AI safety regulator. The joint release says:

The Government will propose these protections be enforced by a new targeted regulator for AI safety, which will work with the Australian AI Safety Institute to provide technical expertise and oversight as global standards evolve.

The release says the regulator “would be able to enforce significant penalties for AI companies that fail to comply with mandatory obligations that will help keep Australia safe.” Separately, the government is also considering criminal law changes to deal with serious misconduct by frontier AI companies. The Australian AI Safety Institute was announced in November 2025 and funded with A$29.9 million under the National AI Plan.

What would frontier AI companies have to do?

The government lists six planned requirements for companies:

  • Maintain security controls across all stages of development and deployment.
  • Identify and manage serious risks associated with their models.
  • Allow independent evaluation of their models.
  • Promptly notify the Australian government of incidents.
  • Maintain and publish safety and security frameworks to support governance, risk management and transparency.
  • Respond to updated standards and rules as technologies change.

The government says these measures would provide “earlier warning of emerging risks from rogue AI agents” and enable “faster, coordinated action when serious AI incidents occur.” It says the protections align with recommendations in an interim report by the Joint Select Committee on Artificial Intelligence. The review’s recommendations also include mandatory reporting of misaligned AI behaviour and cyber incidents, and closer engagement with international counterparts and frontier AI developers on shared expectations for safety and accountability.

How does the proposal fit the wider AI programme?

The release places the protections under the government’s AI in Australia’s Interests agenda and says the planned legislation covers other policy areas. Those areas include rules for large data centres (such as paying for their own new power supply and covering their grid connection costs) and protection for Australian artists and media from AI training without their control. This comes from the earlier “AI in Australia’s Interests” release, which also set up an Office of AI within the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. The earlier policy announcement refers to National Cabinet consideration in August and legislation early the following year, suggesting it predates the 10 November 2026 announcement. The government says it chose to announce its safety approach before international talks on AI development and investment.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the agenda aims to “provide Australians confidence that frontier AI companies are taking steps to improve safety and security, and provide certainty for investors”. He also called Australia a first mover in this space. Home Affairs and Cyber Security Minister Tony Burke said, “Those who want to cause us harm have access to the latest technology.” He called for “clear guardrails to protect Australians.”

Tim Ayres, Minister for Industry and Innovation and Minister for Science, said the protections would build on the National AI Plan. The plan came out on 2 December 2025, and it dropped the earlier proposal for mandatory guardrails on high-risk AI. Ayres said the plan “put safety at the core of the Government’s AI agenda – capturing the opportunities of AI while keeping Australians safe.”

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