Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has backed new laws to regulate algorithms and privacy concerns around smart glasses, while crossbenchers push for an import ban on low-cost devices being used to film people without consent. Australia's online safety regulator has urged manufacturers to automatically blur faces and make filming more obvious.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has retreated from demands that new AI data centres be powered entirely by renewable energy, following pushback from state and territory leaders at national cabinet. The federal government secured a broad agreement on data centre development but allowed carveouts for jurisdictions to use coal and gas power.
Australia's most populous state will begin a gun buyback program on November 2, the country's largest in three decades, following a terror attack at a Bondi Beach Hanukkah celebration that killed 15 people. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is pushing for a national scheme amid concerns about rising privately held firearms.
On 15 July 2026, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced a national AI framework and new Office of AI, introducing mandatory standards for data centres on power and water use, and strengthening copyright protections for artists whose works are used to train AI models.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced Australia will establish a government office to manage AI standards and require data centres to be net energy producers and minimize water usage. Environmental groups have called for a moratorium on data centre development until the new regulations are implemented.
Australia has agreed to sell uranium to India for peaceful nuclear energy purposes in a landmark agreement signed by Prime Ministers Anthony Albanese and Narendra Modi in Melbourne. The deal supports India's goal of achieving 100 gigawatts of nuclear energy capacity by 2047.
