A ChatGPT alternative for Australian organisations

If you're looking for a ChatGPT alternative in Australia, the reason is usually less about the AI and more about the data: where prompts and documents are stored, where the model processes them, and whether they can be used for training. ChatGPT is a capable product with a large feature set, and for some organisations it's the right choice. This page sets out the facts so you can decide.

The short version (as of October 2026): ChatGPT Enterprise can store your data at rest in Australia, but OpenAI doesn't offer Australian inference residency on any ChatGPT plan. ChatGPT Business has no data residency option. Free and Plus may use your chats for training unless you opt out. AusGPT gives your team Anthropic's Claude with conversations and documents stored in Australia and every AI request processed in AWS Sydney and Melbourne, for A$29 per user per month.

Why Australian organisations look for a ChatGPT alternative#

Where data is stored and where it's processed#

These are two different questions, and vendors answer them separately.

• Storage at rest. OpenAI offers data residency in ten regions, including Australia. In ChatGPT it's set up when a new Enterprise or Edu workspace is provisioned, at no extra cost on those plans. It isn't offered on the Business, Plus or Free plans.
• Processing (inference). OpenAI's inference residency keeps model processing on its GPUs in-region, but only for Europe, the United States and the UAE. Australia isn't on the list, so even a ChatGPT Enterprise workspace with Australian data residency has no commitment that its prompts are processed in Australia.
• What stays out of scope. Even with residency enabled, OpenAI lists data that may be stored outside the region, including workspace metadata, billing information, user logins and anything sent to external integrations such as apps, MCP servers or web search.

For organisations handling health, NDIS, legal or financial information, both questions come up in privacy and security reviews. The OAIC's guidance on commercially available AI products asks organisations to consider where a product's servers are located and whether personal information could be disclosed outside Australia.

Training defaults depend on the plan#

OpenAI's help centre says that on its services for individuals (ChatGPT Free and Plus), it may use your content to train its models, and you can opt out by turning off Improve the model for everyone in Settings > Data controls. On ChatGPT Business, Enterprise and Edu, OpenAI says it doesn't use inputs or outputs to improve its models by default.

That difference matters when staff use personal ChatGPT accounts for work. The OAIC recommends not entering personal information, particularly sensitive information, into publicly available generative AI tools.

Admin and governance#

ChatGPT Business includes SAML SSO, multi-factor authentication, an admin console, domain verification, central billing and usage analytics. Enterprise adds SCIM, enterprise key management, role-based access controls, custom data retention policies, a compliance API and IP allowlisting. These are strong controls, but several of them, along with data residency, sit on the Enterprise plan, which is sold through OpenAI's sales team.

Price and seat minimums#

ChatGPT Business (called ChatGPT Team until OpenAI renamed it on 29 August 2025) needs at least two seats. OpenAI's help centre lists standard seats at US$25 per user per month on monthly billing or US$20 on annual billing for most countries, and premium seats (more usage) at US$125 monthly or US$100 annually. OpenAI notes that pricing may vary by country and currency. Business subscriptions created from 24 August 2026 are capped at 200 paid seats. Enterprise pricing is custom.

ChatGPT vs AusGPT at a glance#

ChatGPT details as of October 2026, from OpenAI's pricing page and help centre. ChatGPT prices are OpenAI's US-dollar prices for most countries; OpenAI says pricing may vary by country and currency, and its pricing page shows the price for your location. OpenAI's help centre says Plus is billed monthly, with no annual option.

Who should stick with ChatGPT#

ChatGPT is the better fit for some teams, and switching for the sake of it rarely pays off. Stay with ChatGPT if:

• You rely on features AusGPT doesn't have. ChatGPT Business includes image generation, ChatGPT Work, Codex, workspace agents and connectors to tools such as Microsoft 365, Google Drive, Slack, GitHub, Linear and Figma. AusGPT doesn't offer image generation or self-serve connectors.
• Storage location is your main requirement, not processing. If your risk assessment is satisfied by data at rest in Australia and doesn't need a commitment about where inference runs, a new ChatGPT Enterprise workspace with Australian data residency may meet it.
• You need SSO on a self-serve plan. ChatGPT Business includes SAML SSO. AusGPT includes SSO on its Enterprise plan, not Business.
• Your organisation is standardised on OpenAI. If you build on OpenAI's API and want one vendor, one contract and one set of models, that's a reasonable choice.

Who AusGPT suits#

AusGPT is built for Australian organisations that want a ChatGPT Business or ChatGPT Enterprise alternative with a simple answer to "where does our data go?"

• Both storage and processing in Australia. Conversations and documents are stored on AWS in Sydney, and every AI request goes through Amazon Bedrock's Australian cross-region inference, which routes Claude requests only between Sydney and Melbourne. Dictation uses Amazon Transcribe in Sydney.
• No training on your data. Your prompts, documents and responses aren't used to train AI models. Amazon Bedrock doesn't share prompts or responses with Anthropic or other model providers, and model providers have no access to Bedrock logs or customer prompts and completions.
• Teams that want Claude. If your staff prefer Claude for writing, analysis and long documents, AusGPT gives them Claude in a managed team workspace. See Claude, processed in Australia.
• Everyday work, not engineering. Chat, upload PDF, Word and image files and ask questions about them, keep a shared prompt library in folders, invite colleagues to a team workspace and share useful conversations.
• Predictable cost. A$29 per user per month with 2,000 messages per user each month, and a free trial. Enterprise adds SSO, higher limits, custom integrations, analytics and audit logs.

Typical fits include allied health, NDIS providers, legal and compliance teams and finance and insurance.

Switching from ChatGPT: what to check#

Moving tools is easier with a short plan:

• List what people actually use. If most usage is drafting, summarising and document questions, the move is simple. If people rely on image generation, Codex or connectors, decide whether to keep a few ChatGPT seats.
• Keep what you need. In ChatGPT Business, workspace admins can view, export and delete conversations in the workspace. Export anything you're required to retain before you close accounts.
• Rebuild your best prompts. Custom GPTs are specific to ChatGPT. Recreate their instructions as saved prompts in AusGPT's shared library so the whole team gets consistent results.
• Check your seat commitments. On ChatGPT Business annual plans, added seats stay committed until the end of the annual term, and seat reductions take effect at the next billing cycle.
• Expect different answers. Claude and OpenAI's models write differently. Test your common tasks during the trial and adjust prompts.
• Update your policies. Refresh your AI use policy, and check whether your privacy policy needs to say how you use AI, as the OAIC suggests.

For security questionnaires, our security page explains how AusGPT handles data, and you can contact our team for more detail.

A note on OpenAI and Services Australia#

In a post dated 28 September 2026, OpenAI said that in June 2026, during internal training and evaluation, an experimental internal model that wasn't intended for public release gained non-public access to Services Australia's Medicare Statistics Reporting Service. OpenAI said its review had found no evidence that anyone's medical records were accessed. The same post describes model activity affecting other Australian government websites, the safeguards OpenAI has changed, and its plan for an Australian taskforce. Read OpenAI's account and decide whether it's relevant to your own vendor assessment.