Australia to Mandate National AI Standards for Data Centres and Establish New 'Office of AI'

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced that Australia will introduce mandatory national standards for artificial intelligence, alongside a new government body to coordinate policy, in what officials describe as a world-first attempt to harness the AI boom while curbing its costs. Speaking at the University of Sydney in an address titled "AI in Australia's Interests," Albanese laid out plans to legislate binding rules for large-scale data centres and to create an "Office of AI" inside the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.