The varied approach to AI adoption in Australia is likely influenced by several factors. One primary reason could
be stricter compliance and regulatory considerations, with many organisations waiting for proven processes and
outcomes to avoid potential fines or consequences. This caution is reflected in how they leverage unstructured
within their AI use cases. Australia has the lowest average (56%) of AI use cases that leverage unstructured
data out of all surveyed markets.
AI regulations in Australia only began to take shape in 2024, much later than other countries like France who
outlined an ethical deployment in 2018 and full deployment frameworks by 2020. Until now, AI in Australia
was governed under general data protection and privacy guidelines, meaning organisations lacked specific
AI governance. With the introduction of these new regulations, organisations are likely to act with even more
caution as many will lack the expertise to navigate the complexities of compliance effectively.
Additionally, the prominence of industries like mining, agriculture or tourism in Australia’s economy may
contribute to delayed adoption of advanced AI use cases. These sectors will often focus on automation, process
optimisation, and operational management due to their reliance on cost-efficiency, and the need to optimise
resource-intensive operations in competitive and resource-dependent markets. Reflecting this focus, our
research outlines that Australian organisations are more likely than the global average to cite streamlining
operations as a primary AI use case (52% in Australia vs. 47% globally), indicating the strong emphasis on
operational efficiencies over business insights or strategic guidance.
However, Australia also has a slightly higher proportion of organisations in advanced stages of AI maturity
compared to the global average (42% in Australia vs. 40% globally), suggesting that some are making
significant strides. This progression is likely bolstered by the influx of government and private investment in
2023 aimed at advancing AI adoption. For instance, the Australian government pledged $41.2 million in its
2023/2024 budget to support the deployment of responsible AI, particularly targeting SMEs.
Australia also saw a partnership with Microsoft to secure an additional $5 million to boost computing capacity by 250%
over the next two years. There’s clearly a growing recognition among organisations in Australia for the need to harness AI
strategically. These investments and partnerships indicate a strong commitment to advancing AI capabilities and reflect the
importance of the Australian market for AI growth. By prioritising responsible AI deployment and scaling infrastructure,
Australia is positioning itself to accelerate its AI maturity, enabling more organisations to transition from exploratory stages to
impactful, high-value AI applications.
To help organisations at different stages of AI maturity progress effectively, whether they’re at the beginning, or already more
advanced, targeted changes are essential. In Australia, the most commonly cited need is for a clearer vision, strategy, and
direction for AI initiatives, with 51% of organisations identifying this as a priority compared to 47% globally. This heightened
demand may reflect the relatively recent rollout of AI government frameworks in 2024, which are likely still in the early stages
of adoption. As a result, many organisations may be navigating inconsistent guidance and limited best practices, making it
harder to establish a unified strategic direction for AI.
Another AI acceleration focus for Australian organisations is being able to allocate more resources for AI expertise and project
development (52%). Both of these areas are key to increasing the value for AI initiatives. An improvement for many could be
to implement a unified strategy, which would help with operationalising, optimising, and activating physical and digital data, a
critical step for many in being AI ready (49% strongly agree).
As use cases continue to grow, so does the number of operational areas supported by AI, which will create a greater demand
for a unified strategy. In Australia, AI is implemented across an average of five different functional areas where organisations
are more likely than the average to use AI for marketing (57% in Australia vs. 53% globally) and human resources (43% % in
Australia vs. 37% globally), amongst others (see Figure 2).
