DEWR AI Transparency Statement

DEWR use of AI is transparent, responsible, and aligned with legislative and regulatory requirements, including the Policy for the Responsible Use of AI in Government, APS AI Plan and the Voluntary AI Safety Standard.

As defined in the Policy for Responsible Use of AI in Government, an AI system is a machine-based system that, for explicit or implicit objectives, infers, from the input it receives, how to generate outputs such as predictions, content, recommendations, or decisions that can influence physical or virtual environments. Different AI systems vary in their levels of autonomy and adaptiveness after deployment.

Automated systems are different, and range from:

• traditional rules-based systems (for example a system which calculates a rate of payment in accordance with a formula set out in legislation)
• to more specialised systems which use automated tools to predict and deliberate, including through the use of machine learning.

Monitoring and accountability

DEWR’s AI initiatives are overseen by the AI Accountable Officer, who also serves as the department’s Chief Data Officer. This role ensures robust monitoring and evaluation of AI systems to maintain effectiveness, fairness, and compliance with government policies and the law. DEWR is committed to adapting AI systems as needed to align with evolving legislation, ethical standards, and public expectations.
  
To support these efforts, DEWR has established a robust governance framework to ensure the ethical, transparent, and secure use of AI. Key elements include:

• AI Governance: The department’s AI Adoption Committee oversees all AI initiatives deployed by the department, ensuring they align with DEWR’s strategic objectives and government standards. The Committee advises the AI Accountable Official in overseeing AI initiatives by third party providers such as employment service providers.
• Ethical and Privacy Principles: AI development and deployment adhere to DEWR’s Data, Digital and AI Ethics Policy and whole-of-government AI guidelines, embedding considerations like privacy, safety, lawfulness, transparency and fairness from the outset. Privacy assessments and data security considerations are embedded into the AI governance process, ensuring that the department’s AI tools maintain the privacy of Australians and that their use adheres to our privacy policy.
• Human Oversight: Human-in-the-loop mechanisms are embedded at critical stages to ensure accountability and accuracy in AI outputs.
• Cybersecurity Standards: DEWR is committed to applying the cybersecurity requirements outlined in the Australian Government Information Security Manual (ISM) and the Protective Security Policy Framework (PSPF), using a risk-based approach, to ensure the secure operation of all AI applications.

The department engages with various third-party providers and has governance in place to ensure AI is used transparently, responsibly, and ethically. This includes:

• A Third-Party AI Assessment Framework that ensures that third-party providers contracted to deliver government services on behalf of government are effectively overseen by the department.
• AI in Procurement Principles in place that help to ensure where third-party providers are using AI as part of delivering services to the department, the risks have been considered, the usage is transparent to, and agreed to by the department, and that AI-aware quality assurance processes are in place.

How we use AI

DEWR uses AI to enhance workplace productivity and support corporate and enabling functions. These applications focus on streamlining internal processes, automating routine tasks, and enabling new capabilities.

DEWR uses AI to support service delivery, including using AI to ensure services are high quality and by developing AI-supported solutions to improve services. Where delivery of government services is contracted to third parties, DEWR remains accountable for the way these services are delivered and incorporates effective governance to ensure AI is used safely, responsibly, and ethically.

Usage patterns

DEWR employs AI in the following way:

• Workplace productivity: Use tools like automated document summarisation and virtual assistants to streamline workflows and improve efficiency.
• Analytics for insights: Used to identify, produce or understand insights within structured or unstructured materials via comprehensive data analysis.
• Supporting decision making and administrative action: Supporting human decision making or administrative action by guiding, assessing, or making a recommendation to a human decision maker. AI is not used for automated decision making.

For more about usage patterns, see the Classification system for AI use on the digital.gov.au website.

Domains

Our AI applications focus on:

• Corporate and enabling services: supporting corporate functions, including HR, finance, media and communications, and IT, by automating processes, optimising resource allocation and improving operational efficiency, including research and innovation; and
• Service delivery: enhancing the efficiency and accuracy of the government services DEWR delivers. This includes the delivery of services by contracted third party providers, which are overseen by DEWR to ensure safe, responsible, and ethical use of AI.

For more about domains, see the Classification system for AI use on the digital.gov.au website.

Ensuring responsible use

DEWR safeguards against risks and ensures responsible AI use through a range of governance mechanisms including privacy assessments, ethics assessments, cybersecurity assessments, clear approval processes, and monitoring. We release an annual AI Transparency Statement to provide visibility on how AI is used and managed.

Contact information

For inquiries or feedback regarding DEWR’s use of AI, please contact us at data@dewr.gov.au.

Review and updates

This AI Transparency Statement was last updated on 27 February 2026. It will be reviewed and updated annually or when significant changes occur.