Since September 2025, eleven providers have applied to use AI in DEWR service delivery. As at Senate estimates in June 2026, none had been approved. The framework’s default position is no, and that costs you whether your application is weak or excellent. Here’s what boards need to ask this quarter.
Everyone runs cyber awareness training. Almost nobody runs AI awareness training, even though the strongest control in both cases is the person at the keyboard. Why the most expensive AI mistake is usually the one nobody makes, what the AI6 practices and the new APP 1.7 actually expect, and what good training covers.
If your organisation has decided it needs to “do something with AI” but can’t yet say what, you’re in very good company. The problem usually isn’t governance — it’s that nobody has identified a use case. Here’s how to find yours, build a real AI strategy, and govern it from day one.
Most organisations fix decisions downstream, through escalation and exceptions. Defining decision rights upstream cuts friction, speeds up business and makes accountability real.
We keep blaming governance for slow AI deployments.
Look closer and it’s rarely the controls. It’s the ambiguity.
Teams re-checking the same numbers. Execs asking for “one more cut.” Exceptions escalating because no one owns the call.
That’s not caution. That’s friction, showing up late.
Give people three things — what’s trusted, who decides, when to escalate — and the re-checking stops. Decisions start moving on their own.
Ambiguity doesn’t scale. Structure and confidence do.
Done right, AI governance isn’t a brake. It’s what lets you proceed at speed — and it doesn’t need to be a massive build to get there. Right-fit beats heavyweight, every time.
Every week seems to bring another headline about AI regulation, another client asking “are you
Why Strong Governance Is the Foundation of Sustainable Business Growth In today’s complex Australian business
Why this matters now On 15 July 2026, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the creation
AI governance is becoming a business priority for organisations adopting AI in real operations. In this article, Governance Works outlines five practical steps to reduce risk, build trust, and prepare for standards such as ISO 42001 without creating unnecessary complexity.