ACS backs digital productivity vision but urges action on AI regulation

The Australian Computer Society (ACS), says it welcomes the Productivity Commission’s interim report on Harnessing Data and Digital Technology as a timely acknowledgment of the central role digital capability plays in Australia’s economic resilience and future prosperity.

But while the ACS supports many of the Commission’s findings — particularly the emphasis on improving digital skills, encouraging innovation and addressing capability gaps — the organisation has expressed concern over the recommendation to pause the introduction of mandatory guardrails for artificial intelligence.

“We welcome the Commission’s commitment to technology-neutral regulation and agree that existing frameworks have gaps, but delaying action on AI risks undermining public confidence and leaving industry in limbo,” said ACS CEO Josh Griggs. “We need clear, risk-based rules that evolve with the technology and provide certainty for businesses and safeguards for the community.

“Our AI future depends not just on managing risk, but on growing capability, building trust, and connecting policy to impact.”

ACS says it supports the Commission’s focus on skills, innovation and data governance, and proposes additional measures to help Australia respond with urgency and coordination, namely:

• Fast-track a national framework for technology skills — by building on the Jobs and Skills Australia’s taxonomy and aligning with international standards like SFIA to identify and address critical capability gaps in AI and digital fields.
• Boost investment in AI-related R&D and adoption — to address Australia’s persistently low R&D intensity and lagging innovation output, which place us behind global competitors.
• Ensure inclusive and flexible pathways into digital careers — including entry-level cybersecurity programs, ‘earn while you learn’ models, and removing unnecessary degree requirements from job ads to widen access to in-demand roles.
   

“Digital skills are the foundation of Australia’s economic future,” Griggs said. “The public wants reassurance that AI will benefit everyone, not just those who build it. That means expanding access to skills, strengthening regulation where needed, and supporting industries to adopt AI responsibly.”

ACS’s Digital Pulse 2025 report, released last week, provides further evidence of the challenges ahead, drawing on feedback from 300 senior executives and over 1200 IT professionals. Key findings include:

• 150,000 businesses are experiencing significant or severe digital skills shortages
• 45% of C-suite leaders report only basic digital capabilities in their organisations
• Digital tasks now make up 39% of the average Australian worker’s day
• The digital economy supports 1 million jobs and contributes $134 billion annually.
   

Rather than promoting a wholesale rethink of AI regulation, ACS is calling for parallel progress, closing legislative gaps while simultaneously building national capability and trust.

“We need to move forward with purpose,” Griggs said. “In the face of rapid innovation and increasing use of generative and agentic AI, clear, coordinated and risk-based regulation must evolve in parallel with technology, not in its wake. A pause would only increase uncertainty for business and delay the development of the sovereign capabilities Australia urgently needs.”

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