The Business Council of Australia’s submission to the Australian Government’s Getting it right: Building AI infrastructure that works for Australia consultation supports nationally consistent, outcomes-based standards that enable responsible investment in data centres and frontier AI training.
AI and the infrastructure that supports it will be critical to Australia’s productivity, national capability and future prosperity. The objective is to attract investment while managing impacts on energy, water, infrastructure and communities. New requirements must be proportionate, commercially workable and integrated with existing Commonwealth, state and territory regulation.
To support investment while delivering lasting benefits for Australians, the submission calls for government to:
- establish one nationally consistent, outcomes-based framework, with proportionate thresholds and transition arrangements developed with industry
- provide flexible energy, water and infrastructure settings based on operational performance, fair cost allocation and commercially workable use of renewables, storage and firming
- support early community engagement and practical, voluntary measures to build Australia’s workforce capability
- limit AI-training obligations to clear risks and regulatory gaps, while keeping research contributions voluntary and outcomes-focused.