Does Australia have an AI law?

As of 9 October 2026 we found no single, economy-wide AI Act in force in Australia. AI use is governed by existing laws and by specific rules such as court practice notes, the eSafety codes and the Privacy Act's automated decision-making disclosure rules, which start on 10 December 2026. Regulators have also published guidance on how existing obligations apply to AI.

Which Australian courts have practice notes on generative AI?

This tracker lists practice notes or directions from the Federal Court, the Federal Circuit and Family Court, the Administrative Review Tribunal, the Supreme, District, Local and Land and Environment Courts of NSW, several NSW tribunals, the Supreme and County Courts of Victoria, VCAT, and Queensland courts and tribunals. South Australia and Western Australia have guidelines. Filter by 'Legal and courts' to see them all.

What do court practice notes on AI usually require?

Most require you to verify every case, law and quote that AI produces, keep confidential or suppressed material out of public AI tools, and make sure affidavits and witness statements reflect the witness's own knowledge and words. Some, like NSW's SC Gen 23, go further and ban Gen AI for generating affidavit content and require leave before experts use it.

When do the automated decision-making privacy rules start?

APP 1.7 to 1.9, inserted into the Privacy Act by the Privacy and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2024, commence on 10 December 2026. From then, an APP entity's privacy policy must describe the kinds of personal information used and the kinds of decisions made where a computer program makes, or substantially helps make, decisions that could significantly affect individuals. The OAIC published guidance on 30 September 2026.

What's the difference between a binding rule, a policy and guidance?

In this tracker, a binding rule is legislation, a registered code or standard, or a court or tribunal practice note or direction that people in those proceedings must follow. A policy is a government framework that is mandatory for the agencies it covers or sets national direction. Guidance is a regulator's or body's statement of how it expects existing obligations to apply, which isn't law in itself but shows how the regulator thinks.

Can I download the list?

Yes. Use Download CSV to save the entries currently shown, with their dates, summaries and source links. The download is generated in your browser.

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AI regulation in Australia: rules and guidance tracker

Search and filter current Australian AI rules and guidance, from court practice notes on generative AI to regulator guidance and government policy. Every entry links to its source and was checked on 9 October 2026.

Runs in your browser. Nothing you enter is sent to AusGPT.

Last checked 9 October 2026 against each issuer's own website. Each entry shows the date it was issued or takes effect. Rules change: open the source before you rely on an entry.

General information only, not legal advice. Review the output with your own advisers before you rely on it.

This tracker lists the AI regulation in Australia that organisations are most likely to run into: court and tribunal practice notes on generative AI, regulator guidance for health, disability, education and financial services, privacy rules and guidance, government policy and online safety codes. Search by keyword, filter by sector, type or issuer, and download the results as a CSV.

Every entry was opened on the issuer's own website and checked on 9 October 2026. Each one shows the date it was issued or takes effect, who it applies to, a one-sentence summary and a link to the source. Summaries are short by design, so read the source before you rely on an entry.

How AI regulation in Australia works today

As of October 2026 we found no single, economy-wide AI Act in force. Instead, AI use is shaped by four layers, each tagged in the tracker:

Layer	Examples	Type in the tracker
Laws and registered codes	Privacy Act automated decision rules (from 10 December 2026), eSafety codes and standards, deepfake sexual material offences	Binding rule
Court and tribunal practice notes	NSW SC Gen 23, Federal Court GPN-AI, Victorian SC Gen 25, FCFCOA PD-AI	Binding rule
Government policy and frameworks	DTA policy for AI in government, Australian Framework for Generative AI in Schools	Policy
Regulator guidance	OAIC, Ahpra, TGA, ASIC, APRA, ASQA, TEQSA, NDIS Commission	Guidance

Guidance isn't law, but it tells you how a regulator expects existing obligations to apply to AI, which is usually what it will check against.

Court practice notes on generative AI

Courts have moved fastest. The NSW Supreme Court's SC Gen 23 took effect on 3 February 2025 and has been adopted or mirrored by other NSW courts and tribunals. Since then the Federal Court (April 2026), the Supreme Court of Victoria (May 2026), the Federal Circuit and Family Court (May 2026), the County Court of Victoria (June 2026) and the Administrative Review Tribunal (August 2026) have issued their own. The Fair Work Commission's guidance note applies from 20 October 2026.

They differ in detail, but most share these themes:

Verify everything. Check that every case, law and quote exists and says what AI claims. Several courts say that asking another AI tool doesn't count as verification.
Protect evidence. Affidavits and witness statements must reflect the witness's own knowledge and words. NSW goes further and bans Gen AI from generating that content.
Experts need care. Rules range from needing the court's leave before using Gen AI (NSW) to detailed disclosure in the report, such as annexing prompts and outputs in Queensland criminal matters.
Keep restricted material out. Don't enter suppressed, subpoenaed, privileged or confidential material into public AI tools. Several courts distinguish public tools from "closed" tools with contractual confidentiality controls, and expect you to check a tool's terms before relying on it.

AI guidance from Australian regulators

Privacy (all sectors): the OAIC's October 2024 guidance says privacy obligations apply to personal information put into AI products and recommends against entering personal information into publicly available generative AI tools. The automated decision-making disclosure rules in APP 1.7 to 1.9 start on 10 December 2026.
Health: Ahpra says practitioners stay responsible for care when they use AI and generally need informed consent for AI scribes. The TGA explains when a digital scribe becomes a regulated medical device.
Disability: the NDIS Commission's February 2026 position statement on behaviour support plans expects providers using AI to de-identify information so no participant personal information is disclosed to AI systems.
Education and training: ASQA's five principles (July 2026) apply the 2025 Standards for RTOs to AI. TEQSA has published toolkits on gen AI and assessment integrity.
Financial services: ASIC's REP 798 and APRA's April 2026 letter set expectations for AI governance, board oversight and risk management.
Government: the DTA policy requires Commonwealth agencies to have accountable officials, transparency statements, use case registers and impact assessments.

For organisations without a sector regulator, the National AI Centre's Guidance for AI adoption sets out six essential practices, starting with deciding who is accountable and writing an AI policy.

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What this tracker doesn't cover

State government AI policies, local council policies and professional association guidance (for example colleges and bar associations), unless issued by a regulator listed here.
Consultations, discussion papers and announcements that haven't produced a rule or guidance yet.
Items we couldn't open and confirm on the issuer's own website on 9 October 2026.

If you're choosing an AI tool for work covered by these rules, look for clear answers on where data is processed and stored, whether it's used for training, and who can access it. AusGPT runs Claude through Amazon Bedrock with processing in Australia, stores data on AWS in Sydney, and doesn't use your data to train AI models. See our security page for details.

Sources

Frequently asked questions

Does Australia have an AI law?: As of 9 October 2026 we found no single, economy-wide AI Act in force in Australia. AI use is governed by existing laws and by specific rules such as court practice notes, the eSafety codes and the Privacy Act's automated decision-making disclosure rules, which start on 10 December 2026. Regulators have also published guidance on how existing obligations apply to AI.
Which Australian courts have practice notes on generative AI?: This tracker lists practice notes or directions from the Federal Court, the Federal Circuit and Family Court, the Administrative Review Tribunal, the Supreme, District, Local and Land and Environment Courts of NSW, several NSW tribunals, the Supreme and County Courts of Victoria, VCAT, and Queensland courts and tribunals. South Australia and Western Australia have guidelines. Filter by 'Legal and courts' to see them all.
What do court practice notes on AI usually require?: Most require you to verify every case, law and quote that AI produces, keep confidential or suppressed material out of public AI tools, and make sure affidavits and witness statements reflect the witness's own knowledge and words. Some, like NSW's SC Gen 23, go further and ban Gen AI for generating affidavit content and require leave before experts use it.
When do the automated decision-making privacy rules start?: APP 1.7 to 1.9, inserted into the Privacy Act by the Privacy and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2024, commence on 10 December 2026. From then, an APP entity's privacy policy must describe the kinds of personal information used and the kinds of decisions made where a computer program makes, or substantially helps make, decisions that could significantly affect individuals. The OAIC published guidance on 30 September 2026.
What's the difference between a binding rule, a policy and guidance?: In this tracker, a binding rule is legislation, a registered code or standard, or a court or tribunal practice note or direction that people in those proceedings must follow. A policy is a government framework that is mandatory for the agencies it covers or sets national direction. Guidance is a regulator's or body's statement of how it expects existing obligations to apply, which isn't law in itself but shows how the regulator thinks.
Can I download the list?: Yes. Use Download CSV to save the entries currently shown, with their dates, summaries and source links. The download is generated in your browser.

Legal AI rules for Australian lawyers A jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction table of court practice notes and guidelines on generative AI, the professional obligations that sit underneath them, and a checklist for firms. Education and training ASQA AI guide for RTOs ASQA released five principles for the responsible use of AI in VET in July 2026. This guide explains what they say, which 2025 Standards they connect to, and what to do about training materials, assessment integrity, learner use, policy and record keeping. Privacy law Automated decision-making and APP 1.7 From 10 December 2026, organisations that use software or AI to make, or substantially help make, significant decisions about people must say so in their privacy policy. Here is what APP 1.7 to 1.9 require, who they cover and a checklist to be ready. AI governance Guidance for AI Adoption (AI6) The National AI Centre's Guidance for AI Adoption is the government's main playbook for using AI responsibly. It updated the Voluntary AI Safety Standard in October 2025. Here are the six practices, the free templates and a 90-day plan for a small or mid-sized organisation. AI governance AI policy generator Create an AI acceptable use policy for your staff in a few minutes. It follows the National AI Centre's AI policy template and six essential practices, with privacy rules based on OAIC guidance and extra clauses for your sector. Industry AI for Legal & Compliance Private, Australian-hosted AI for law firms and compliance teams. Summarise documents, draft correspondence and manage policies without sending client data offshore.

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How AI regulation in Australia works today#

Court practice notes on generative AI#

AI guidance from Australian regulators#

What this tracker doesn't cover#