Monash University researchers have added fresh weight to concerns about Australia’s readiness for artificial intelligence, urging the country to accelerate workforce training and build sovereign capability as the Federal Government’s National AI Plan takes shape.
Australian Laureate Fellow Professor Geoff Webb from the Department of Data Science and AI says the Government is “striking a sensible balance” by delaying new laws until the gaps in current regulation are fully understood. He argues that caution is necessary, but the country cannot afford to delay investment in skills.
“Australia is sleep walking toward a potential economic cliff. In the worst case scenario, AI services provided by international corporations will replace Australian workers, greatly decreasing the number of Australians bringing incomes to Australian households. Instead, Australian businesses will send fees for services offshore,” Professor Webb said.
His warning follows new data showing a widening gulf between the rapid pace of global AI adoption and Australia’s ability to keep up. While many employers are encouraging staff to use AI tools, large parts of the workforce report low confidence and limited training opportunities. Professor Webb says meeting this gap is essential if Australia wants to compete.
“Australia needs to invest now in upskilling its workforce. Sectors of the economy where Australia has competitive advantage need to develop leaders with deep understanding of the true opportunities and limitations of AI in order for us to develop new products and services that we can sell to the world,” he said.
“That needs to be underpinned by the development of a highly skilled workforce that can develop the leading edge technologies that those new products and services will require.”
Professor Shonali Krishnaswamy, Director of the Monash AI Institute, believes the National AI Plan arrives at a crucial moment for the economy. She says the Government is right to take guidance from the Productivity Commission while avoiding heavy regulation that could limit innovation.
“The National AI Plan is very timely. It is excellent to see that the Federal Government is hearing the voices from the Productivity Commission. We live in the Age of AI, and this technology has tremendous potential to supercharge the Australian economy if harnessed carefully and responsibly, but without over-regulation,” she said.
Professor Krishnaswamy emphasises the growing demand for “AI bilingualists”, people who can operate fluently in both AI and their own professional field. She argues that these skills must be developed urgently, through university pathways as well as micro credentials and workplace training.
“There is a real demand for an AI skilled workforce. Increasingly, we will need ‘AI bilingualists’, people who are fluent and conversational in AI and fluent and conversational in their own domain, for example finance, logistics or healthcare. Australia will need to invest in formal education, micro skills and on the job training to create this workforce rapidly,” she said.
She points to global examples that show how quickly other countries are moving. “Australian adoption of AI needs to pick up pace to catch up with other countries internationally and in the region. For example, Singapore has set up 50 AI innovation labs led by different companies and research institutions in just over a year, which creates high value jobs in the local economy.”
Professor Krishnaswamy also welcomed the creation of the new AI Safety Institute, arguing that Australia has waited too long for such a centre. She says the country already has strong research capability and that coordination will be key to turning that strength into economic value.
“I welcome the creation of the AI Safety Institute announced earlier. This is long overdue. Many countries have already established such centres.”
“Australia has excellent AI research and innovation that is world leading in many areas. For example, our researchers have developed one of the largest open source deepfake detection benchmarking datasets, with well over 1 million deepfake images used by over 100 organisations globally.”
“The hope is that the AI Safety Institute will connect and collaborate with the world leading researchers and experts in this area in universities across the country, and bring cutting edge sovereign capability in AI to Australian industry, government and public sector organisations.”
As global competition intensifies and early career roles face fresh pressure from automation, both experts say Australia has a narrow window to act. The National AI Plan offers a framework, but its impact will depend on the country’s ability to move quickly, train widely and support industries that can lead with Australian-made technology.
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