Copyright law battleground in Australia’s AI boom<\/a><\/p>\n Tens of billions of dollars in investment, and Australia’s ambition to become a global AI power, could hinge on a law written in 1968 for an era of black-and-white television, film and radio.<\/p>\n Mr Albanese will announce the establishment of an Office of AI to operate within the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet and coordinate the design of new “Australian Standards” for the technology, according to a short preview of his speech provided ahead of the address.<\/p>\n The approach of states and territories in attracting and approving data centres needed to power AI has been particularly fragmented, with the prime minister now signalling a greater role for his government to bring that patchwork together.<\/p>\n Mr Albanese will say “every country on earth” is grappling with the challenges posed by AI, and claim Australia as being the “first” to bring those issues into a “single, national framework”.<\/p>\n “Getting this right will enhance our appeal to international investors, by delivering greater clarity and speed for approvals, and a streamlined process for verifying compliance,” he will say.<\/p>\n “It also imposes an important discipline on government.”<\/p>\n New AI office will ‘bring together’ government work<\/p>\n Mr Albanese will argue AI “touches on the work of every minister and department” and it was therefore “only natural” that until now the government’s response had been “issue-by-issue” and “sector by sector”.<\/p>\n “But just as government developed coordinated approaches for other significant technologies: from civil aviation in the 1920s to genetics in the 1990s, we must do this with AI as well,” he will say.<\/p>\n An AI data centre under construction in St Leonards, Tasmania. (ABC News: Morgan Timms)<\/p>\n Mr Albanese wants his new AI office to “bring together” work already underway across the government.<\/p>\n Examples include the cooperation with states and territories on expectations around data centres, defence and national security, copyright protections, and the impact of AI in schools and on workers.<\/p>\n Copyright clarity unlikely for now<\/p>\n The prime minister is not expected to unveil any dramatic shift in the federal government’s position on copyright law, despite widespread reports tech giant Anthropic has made its offer of using Australia as a training ground for its AI model Claude contingent on the issue.<\/p>\n Anthropic is reportedly seeking to make Australia it’s second-largest base for training behind the US, but does not want to go through existing laws to negotiate and pay for access to copyright material like music and books.<\/p>\n![\"Piles](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/6071c631f74a831f881dec449915f26b.jpeg\")
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